The Baltimore mayor's chief of staff and two other government officials sued an Ocean City Domino's pizza and related businesses for $30 million after employees at the beachfront pizzeria refused to serve them and allegedly imprisoned them in the restaurant for five to 10 minutes about 1:30 a.m. Aug. 15.
The owner of the Ocean City restaurant, John S. Basil, said service was refused because the three were "uncooperative," "belligerent" and "intoxicated," and denies that the three were held against their will, according to court papers.
A Worcester County Circuit Court judge ruled that most of the business entities connected with Domino's are not liable in the case, but is allowing a $5 million suit against the local establishment, Ocean City Extra Cheese, to move forward.
The incident occurred while the three were at the annual Maryland Association of Counties conference, which is attended by the state's top lawmakers and their staff.
It came to light last week because one of the plaintiffs, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's chief of staff, Demaune Millard, is involved in an unrelated legal matter. He and a former girlfriend have accused each other of assault stemming from an argument this month on an Inner Harbor cruise ship. He is on paid leave.
The other two plaintiffs in the civil suit are Donald R. Huskey, Baltimore's assistant city solicitor, and Jonathan Carpenter, the deputy director of the Minority Business Enterprise office of the state Department of Transportation. The three are being represented by Governor E. Jackson III, a lawyer in the Baltimore city solicitor's office. Jackson also has a small private practice and is not representing them on city time, said City Solicitor George A. Nilson.
Nilson said he was unaware of the Worcester County lawsuit until this week, when Millard's other case was in the news. "It is an unusual enough situation," Nilson said. "I'm mildly disappointed that I didn't know."
Scott Peterson, a spokesman for Dixon, said the mayor became aware of the case earlier this year when Millard was deposed. "This is a case that is outside city business for all parties involved," Peterson said.
Millard, Huskey and Carpenter were attending a political event "sponsored for state governmental leaders by the City of Baltimore" at Castaway's Restaurant, according to court papers. An invitation shows the event, called Baltimore on the Shore, was scheduled from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and was hosted by Dixon and by Verizon.
