Mount Prospect attorney wins $2.5 million verdict in harassment case

A Mount Prospect attorney has won a $2.5 million judgment on behalf of his client, an former employee of a Chicago supermarket who sued his employer for sexual and racial harassment. The verdict was issued Tuesday.

"The federal judge, who hears hundreds of cases, said that he has never seen such sensational facts as in this case," said the attorney, Joseph Longo.

Robert Smith, who is black, sued Rosebud Farmstand on the far south side of Chicago, naming the shift manager, the store manager and six other employees. An attorney for Rosebud did not immediately return a message Saturday.

According to court documents, Smith worked for Rosebud as a butcher from 2003-2008.

Smith's lawsuit alleged male employees would touch and grab the plaintiff and used racial slurs. By 2006 and 2007, the touching and grabbing became intolerable, including a manager who tried to force him into a refrigerator for sex, according to the lawsuit.

Smith, who then quit the job, filed discrimination complaints with the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2008.