Copyright independent
An appeals court upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a New Jersey mother who claimed she was yelled at and called a “Karen” by children at a theme park, as workers did nothing to stop the harassment. The 55-year-old woman from Edison, a suburb about 36 miles southwest of New York City, was attending a birthday party at iPlay America on October 9, 2022, with her two children when an employee told her she was too short for a go-kart ride, NJ.com reported. “While the employee and a manager were speaking with plaintiff, children waiting in line behind her became upset and began to shout at her because of the delay, calling her a ‘white b----’ and (Karen),” according to the lawsuit, filed June 3, 2024, in Middlesex County Superior Court. In recent years, the name Karen has become synonymous with a specific type of middle-class white woman who acts in either a demanding or entitled manner. The woman, who previously rode the attraction without any trouble, was left “terribly embarrassed and humiliated by these events and felt discriminated against because she was wrongfully denied access to the IPA Speedway Go-Kart ride,” the lawsuit said. After she was turned away from the go-karts, the woman had to walk past the ridiculing children who were yelling at her, according to the lawsuit. Her embarrassment was apparently exacerbated because her “two minor children were present for the entire event,” the suit says. According to the lawsuit, iPlay employees did nothing to stop the harassment. iPlay America is an indoor theme park with bumper cars, go-karts, laser tag and other attractions in Freehold, a New Jersey suburb about 50 miles south of New York City. In the lawsuit, the woman accused iPlay America of negligence for not allowing her on the ride. It also claims the business breached its duty of care by not preventing other guests from yelling at her. A trial court dismissed the woman’s lawsuit on October 11, 2024. A state appellate court upheld that dismissal in a decision made Friday. “We are unpersuaded by plaintiff’s arguments and determine the trial court did not err in its findings,” the appeals court wrote in its decision. The appeals court noted it did not approve of the children’s behavior, but said iPlay America’s responsibility to provide a safe environment “does not extend to protecting patrons from derogatory and perjorative comments.” “Preventing certain communications between patrons is not feasible,” the decision said, later noting the park cannot reasonably prevent verbal insults from taking place.
