Inn Trouble: Lawsuit Says Summer House Staff Served Up Harassment Instead Of Hospitality

A former Summer House worker has filed a lawsuit in Nantucket Superior Court accusing multiple employees of sexual harassment in the summer of 2022, and alleging she was the victim of discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination at the 'Sconset establishment. The woman claims other coworkers created a hostile work environment at The Summer House by refusing to feed her, providing illegal housing in an inadequate living space, wrongfully terminating her after she refused to continue working alongside an alleged assailant who played pornographic videos in front of her while cleaning a guest room, and withholding pay that was owed to her.

“The defendants are strictly liable for the sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, and retaliation committed against the plaintiff by the defendants' supervisors and managerial staff,” the suit says. “The defendants are liable for sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, and retaliation for allowing, tolerating and encouraging the hostile work environment to which the plaintiff was subjected by her coworkers, the defendants' employees, and by her supervisors and managers, the defendants' supervisory and managerial staff, of which the defendants received actual and/or constructive knowledge.”

The defendants are The Summer House, Inc., Andre Associates, Inc., and Andre Partners, LLC. All three entities were managed at the time by the owner of The Summer House, Danielle DeBenedictis. In the 29-page lawsuit, the alleged victim recounted her experience while employed at The Summer House with various incidents ranging from sexual harassment and assault as well as workplace hostility that not only impacted her day-to-day life, but got so bad that DeBenedictis threatened to fire the entire Summer House staff and close the inn during a mid-August staff meeting if it didn’t improve.

DeBenedictis' attorney Jim Merberg told the Current they were in this process with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, which is an independent state agency that enforces the Massachusetts anti-discrimination laws, for three years and over that period of time, had some hearings with the alleged victim and her counsel, but nothing happened. He said the alleged victim recently dismissed their request for action with the MCAD and filed the lawsuit in Nantucket Superior Court.

"I prefer to litigate my cases in the courtroom, not in the newspaper, but we deny all of these allegations and we have from the very beginning," Merberg said. "The plaintiff requested it be dismissed after being before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. There was no action taken for three years."

According to the lawsuit, the alleged victim was hired by The Summer House in 2022 after one of her friends invited her to work there, and will be referred to as "alleged victim" in this story to protect her identity. The alleged victim, who speaks limited English, was put in contact with Estaban Diaz, the former Summer House head chef who ran their main kitchen. Diaz allegedly offered victim employment in April of 2022 for the summer season. The two sides negotiated compensation details which included Diaz promising base pay with considerable overtime, work in the kitchen with Diaz serving as her trainer, a safe room to sleep in reserved for female staff, and the cost of the flight from her home in Miami. She was prepared to arrive on the island on July 21^st, 2022.

Shortly before July 21, however, Diaz told the alleged victim that The Summer House would not pay for her airfare but offered to pay for it himself since he promised it. The alleged victim stated that, since the arrangement was a discounted flight to Boston that required her to travel by bus to Hyannis and then ferry to Nantucket, she declined and made her own arrangements to fly into Nantucket on July 21.

Diaz picked the alleged victim up at the airport that day. When they arrived at The Summer House, the alleged victim walked to the female housing but was told by the women that it was fully occupied and that there was no bed for her, adding that the only place she could sleep was in a bedroom reserved for three young male staff members.

“Upset, but seeming to have no alternative, the plaintiff put her belongings in the male bedroom,” the lawsuit says.

After meeting the lead manager “Salvador” and being provided food by Diaz, Salvador proposed having the alleged victim work as a dishwasher, to which Diaz said he had another position in mind for her and that he would discuss the position with alleged victim when he completed work.

At approximately 11 p.m., Diaz asked the alleged victim to meet him in his room to discuss kitchen work. When she arrived, Diaz allegedly had a bottle of liquor and a drink in his hands while having his “after-work” drink. Diaz proceeded to latch the bedroom door and offered the alleged victim a drink, but she declined.

“The plaintiff raised the issue of her sleeping quarters, reminding Diaz that she had been promised safe residence in the female staff bedroom,” the suit says. “Diaz offered the plaintiff the option of sleeping in his ‘ample’ and comfortable bed, which he termed her ‘best option’ because he said she would be safer than sleeping with three young men that she did not know. Diaz described himself and the plaintiff as ‘both adults’ and promised not to sexually abuse her.”

The alleged victim says she repeatedly declined the offers made by Diaz to sleep in his bed with him, and when she tried to leave, Diaz allegedly insisted she sit and talk with him as he proceeded to ask her personal questions.

“As the plaintiff got up to leave Diaz's bedroom, Diaz switched off the light, apologized, said he was turning it back on, but reached into the plaintiff's clothing, cupped, rubbed and squeezed her breast, and said, ‘wow, Que Rico Esta Esto’ (Translation: ‘Wow, this is good’).

The alleged victim said she raised her arm to defend herself and to turn the light back on when Diaz grabbed the alleged victim, hugged her, and allegedly tried kissing her as he told her he liked the alleged victim from the moment he saw her photo.

“(Diaz) asked if she found him attractive (and she) answered ‘no,’ insisted that Diaz had gotten out of control, pushed herself away from him, unlatched the door, and left his room as he called to her and again invited her to stay in his bed, ‘or else.’”

The alleged victim, who is married, ultimately stayed in the men’s bedroom that night. She says later in the summer season, she learned that Diaz went to the women’s bedroom early the next morning and told female staff not to believe anything the alleged victim said. When the alleged victim told her friend that Diaz had put her in touch with him, she allegedly expressed sympathy but did nothing to address the issue.

The day after the incident on July 22^nd, 2022 – just the alleged victim’s second day on Nantucket and first full day on the job – the alleged victim learned that the kitchen work promised to her was given to other staff and she was assigned to be a housekeeper, which paid less. A male co-worker also approached her that day about a large stockroom in the attic where she could sleep. While another male was already living there and it was not designed for sleeping, the alleged victim moved in because it was a larger space and she felt she would be safer in it.

The alleged victim said The Summer House employees, including general manager Francesca Karlson, who was the daughter of the owners DeBenedictis and the late Peter Karlson, knew the storage area was being illegally used to sleep staff, ignored it, and charged the victim $75 for room and board.

The alleged harassment by Diaz was reportedly just the beginning of a five-week stretch of torment. When the alleged victim was assigned to be a housekeeper, she was allegedly under the supervision of a man named Robin Espejo, who also served as her English translator when needed. Shortly after the alleged victim moved into the attic, Espejo allegedly moved in as well, would sleep naked, and when the alleged victim told Espejo it was not proper to sleep naked in shared living quarters, he reportedly refused to change his behavior.

Initially, Espejo was the only co-worker assigned to clean rooms with the alleged victim, and as time passed, the alleged victim said that Espejo began making non-threatening sexual innuendos and comments, which led to the alleged victim keeping her physical distance.

“At first, Espejo's comments were not intimidating and did not relate to the plaintiff personally,” the lawsuit says. “Over time, Espejo’s comments became more sexually explicit, began to relate to the plaintiff, and were accompanied by Espejo moving into closer physical proximity towards her. Espejo occasionally would brush up against the plaintiff but with enough frequency to enable the plaintiff to conclude that he was brushing against her deliberately. The plaintiff always responded, "no, stay away," and moved away from Espejo.”

The alleged victim said Espejo would lie on guest beds they cleaned and invite her to lay in bed with him, to which she refused. She said as she continued rejecting Espejo’s sexual advances, he became increasingly hostile and aggressive, would insult her, criticize her work performance, and disparage her accent and speech. She said he would demand she work faster and leave the room, which left the alleged victim having to clean the rooms herself in what “became a pattern.”

Despite the repeated rejections, the sexual advances allegedly continued and only got worse.

“Espejo told the plaintiff that he had not had sex in some time, was very ‘horny,’ and questioned the plaintiff about her sexual appetite,” the lawsuit says. “The plaintiff told Espejo that his behavior was disrespectful and unprofessional, that she would never engage in sexual relations with him, that she was not interested in him, that his behavior would cause him psychological disorders, and that he should focus on his work. On one occasion, Espejo approached the plaintiff from behind while she was cleaning, grabbed her around her waist, and whispered sexual comments in her ear, telling her words to the effect of ‘this is the way he want(s her).’ The plaintiff pushed Espejo away and positioned herself to defend herself, if necessary.”

On August 10, 2022, while the two were cleaning a guest room, Espejo once again lay down on a bed and made sexual remarks to the alleged victim and said he “needed” to have sex while promising the alleged victim he wouldn’t tell anyone.

“Espejo then began playing pornographic videos on his cell phone and holding them up for the plaintiff to see,” the lawsuit says. “The plaintiff told Espejo that his behavior had gone too far, that he was completely inappropriate, that she did not like what he was doing, and that he should stop.”

When the alleged victim told Espejo she would report his sexual harassment and failure to do their assigned work, he allegedly told her that his behavior was “the way things were done at The Summer House.” He concluded by saying she could either comply with him and accept the sexual behavior or leave.

The alleged victim eventually left and later on spoke to a manager named Xavier, although she says she doesn’t know his last name. The alleged victim used her husband as a translator over the phone to describe what happened. While she was assured by the manager that they would investigate the allegations and protect the alleged victim, the manager allegedly admitted that sexual harassment had occurred at The Summer House before involving other staff members.

Three days later, on August 13, 2022, Xavier and Francesca Karlson met with the alleged victim, reiterating measures to protect her; however, the actions seemed to be more rewarding to Espejo than punishing. She says in the lawsuit they claimed they would terminate Espejo’s employment “within the next few days,” however, that never happened. Francesca Karlson stated that she would relocate Espejo’s living space, reassign his work areas, and eventually terminate his employment.

The alleged victim was instructed to work in the laundry room, which was a “small, overheated room with inadequate ventilation,” while Espejo was allowed to continue roaming the property. They also moved Espejo to a guest cottage while keeping the alleged victim in the attic.

Matters continued to get worse, as Diaz allegedly cornered the alleged victim in the laundry room – which was just a few doors down from his bedroom – screaming at her that he had been forced to resign because of her allegations of sexual assault and harassment against him.

“In fact, Diaz was terminated by the defendants for stealing from The Summer House and not because of his sexual harassment of the plaintiff,” the lawsuit claims.

The alleged victim said Espejo began lying about her to other staff members, which led to staff becoming hostile and creating an even worse work environment.

“Several of the kitchen staff who learned of Diaz's tirade, having been told by Diaz not to believe anything the plaintiff said, accused the plaintiff of being a trouble maker who had Diaz fired, threatened her, ostracized her, and created an even more hostile work environment for her,” the lawsuit says. “Francesca Karlson observed kitchen staff yelling and threatening (the alleged victim), told staff to ‘stop fighting,’ but took no further action. The defendants did not alleviate the hostile environment, which was directed at the plaintiff.”

The alleged victim said that it got so bad that the chef responsible for feeding staff began refusing to serve her food, wouldn’t let her access the kitchen, and that other employees who were friends with Diaz would continuously pound on restroom doors anytime she entered.

“The defendant's employee known as "Chef Charley" (last name unknown), who was responsible for feeding The Summer House staff, told the plaintiff that he would not feed her, denied her access to the kitchen so that she could not feed herself, and told her to find food elsewhere,” the lawsuit says. “All other staff were allowed access to the kitchen freely and to food stored there. After Diaz's termination and accusations against the plaintiff, the defendants' employees Angelica (last name unknown) and Alexa (last name unknown), kitchen workers who were friends of Diaz, pounded on the door every time they observed the plaintiff enter the restroom, in order to force her to leave prematurely. This behavior continued throughout the rest of the plaintiff's employment.”

This harassment was reported to Francesca Karlson, but allegedly nothing was done to stop or alleviate it. In fact, the alleged victim claims in the lawsuit that The Summer House management and ownership began “searching for excuses to take adverse action against (her).”

The lawsuit says that DeBenedictis eventually began to complain about the way the alleged victim cleaned rooms, but would not comment on Espejo’s cleaning, even though they were cleaning rooms together.

“From that time until the plaintiff ceased employment, Ms. DeBenedictis made a practice of inspecting rooms that the plaintiff cleaned and finding something about which to complain,” the lawsuit says. “Ms. DeBenedictis even complained about where and what the plaintiff ate for her meals. By contrast, Ms. DeBenedictis did not inspect rooms that Espejo cleaned alone.”

The alleged victim said DeBenedictis never inquired about the sexual harassment or employee hostility, despite knowing about it. The lawsuit claims that was a significant factor because DeBenedictis was involved in the investigation that was allegedly going to take place into the sexual harassment and discrimination allegations.

“The plaintiff was later advised by a Summer House employee who seemed to have a personal relationship with the owners and who had discussed the sexual harassment with Ms. DeBenedictis, that Ms. DeBenedictis told that employee that the plaintiff had not called the police, had no evidence of the sexual assaults, had no case, and, therefore, her accusations would present no problems for the defendants, The Summer House, its owners or staff,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit further alleges that Espejo would frequently enter the laundry room after the alleged victim was assigned there, but all Karlson instructed her to do was document the incidents, despite the alleged victim having already alerted Karlson to the “repeated intrusions.”

Karlson also allegedly told the alleged victim that DeBenedictis had investigated Espejo’s interactions with other female workers and that, since no one else had been sexually harassed, she would not terminate his employment, remove him from the property, or change his housekeeping assignment.

The alleged victim allegedly told Karlson about another female employee who was sexually harassed by Espejo, but that she was afraid of losing her job, so she didn’t report it. Karlson allegedly admitted she was aware of the “employee’s situation,” but since the employee didn’t report it, she deemed the employee to not have a problem with Espejo’s sexual behavior. Espejo was eventually relocated to a bedroom two doors away from the laundry room where the alleged victim was told to work, which scared her because she said it was small, isolated, and gave Espejo easy access to her at any time in an area where she was unlikely to obtain help if something happened.

The alleged victim was relocated to a different spot to sleep on August 16^th, 2022. Several employees allegedly told the alleged victim she did not belong at The Summer House and that she should leave. At a staff meeting that day, DeBenedictis allegedly threatened to fire the entire staff at The Summer House and shut the inn down because of employee behavior.

All of the behavior continued through the end of the alleged victim’s employment, she said in the lawsuit, but it continued to be ignored. The alleged victim told a supervisor on August 30 she would not continue working under these conditions, which led to The Summer House claiming she resigned. The alleged victim left The Summer House on August 31, 2022, and confirmed her termination in writing on September 1, 2022 while sending instructions on where to mail her final check.

“The defendants never sent the plaintiff her final check,” the lawsuit says.

They are facing six counts in the lawsuit including sexual harassment, sex discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress – arguing they are liable for all of the harassment, hostility, discrimination, withholding of pay, illegal living conditions, and the wrongful termination of her employment.

“As a direct and proximate result of the defendants' sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, and retaliation, the plaintiff was wrongfully terminated from her employment, suffered lost earnings and lost earning capacity, suffered severe and permanent emotional distress which has manifested in physical symptoms, required and requires psychological counseling and treatment, and has suffered loss of the pleasures and enjoyments of life.”

The alleged victim is demanding a jury trial and is seeking an amount to be determined by a jury plus costs, interest, reasonable attorney fees, punitive and exemplary damages where allowed by law, and further relief the court deems appropriate.

The Current reached out to DeBenedictis and the alleged victim's attorney Mark Itzkowitz seeking a request for comment. Itzkowitz respectfully declined comment. DeBenedictis has not responded.