03-07-2025
22-year-old beaten daily by head chef at Hawaii restaurant wins $3M, lawyer says
A jury in Hawaii returned a $3.15 million verdict against the owner of a Japanese fine dining restaurant, ruling in favor of a former sous chef who endured violent, daily beatings from a head chef until the abuse put him out of work, his attorney said.
In reaching the verdict June 24, the jury found Margotto owner Kazutomo Robert Hori was aware of the ongoing abuse but allowed it to continue, according to a news release from attorney James D. DiPasquale, of DiPasquale & Summers, LLP, who represented a lawsuit brought by the sous chef, Andrew Debellis.
Debellis was a 22-year-old aspiring sushi chef when he started working at Margotto in Honolulu, where its executive chef Yohei Yagishita would verbally degrade and beat Debellis on a daily basis, sometimes 'in full view of both customers and fellow staff members,' the lawsuit says.
During the series of physical assaults from October 2023 through December 2023, Yagishita would regularly slap, kick and punch Debellis, including in his arms and in the face, according to the complaint filed in February 2024.
The lawsuit detailed multiple examples of Yagishita reacting violently to Debellis, including over a mistake related to salad, when Yagishita felt a tray hadn't been properly wrapped in plastic and over Debellis' limited understanding of Japanese.
The jury ruled Hori was negligent by failing to put a stop to the abuse, which several Margotto employees had reported to him, according to DiPasquale. Hori, who was accused of seeing some of the assaults, owns the Margotto restaurant brand. He also has another Margotto restaurant in Tokyo.
DiPasquale said in a statement to McClatchy News' that the jury's verdict was 'a public recognition that what happened inside that kitchen wasn't discipline, or pressure, or cultural misunderstanding.'
'It was bullying, plain and simple,' he added.
Attorney William Ota, who represented Hori, said in a statement to McClatchy News on July 3 that Hori and Margotto Hawaii are 'disappointed with the verdict' and 'deny Mr. Debellis' allegations.'
He also said Debellis 'did not raise any issues to management or to the restaurant's outsourced human resources company.'
Ota added that if Hori knew of the alleged abuse, he would have 'addressed it immediately.'
Contact information for Yagishita was not immediately available. He no longer works at Margotto in Honolulu, Ota said.
The last assault against Debellis occurred on Christmas in 2023, according to DiPasquale.
That day, DiPasquale said Yagishita repeatedly punched Debellis in the face, causing a whiplash injury. Debellis, whose rotator cuff also became torn, could no longer work as a result, his attorney said.
'To this day, I can't even lift much over 15 pounds,' Debellis told the Honolulu Civil Beat.
Debellis, now 23, experiences physical pain, severe PTSD, depression and anxiety since working at Margotto, according to DiPasquale, who said he has needed medical care, physical therapy and mental health care as a result of the abuse.
In regards to the evidence presented against Hori in connection with his alleged negligence, DiPasquale told McClatchy News that the jury 'understood the silence, the complicity, and the harm.'
'Public acknowledgment of what happened here matters so much,' DiPasquale said. 'The message is clear: enabling abuse carries consequences.'
He added that Debellis is now 'back in the restaurant industry doing what he loves.'
