Local Attorney and Encino Coffee Bean Locations Named in Restroom Camera Lawsuit

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and an attorney were named today in a lawsuit alleging that syringe-sized cameras were planted under the sinks of two different Coffee Bean restrooms in Encino to record customers as they were using the toilet.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Roderick Smith against the coffee house chain and lawyer Mark Daniel Wenzel alleges invasion of privacy, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Smith is seeking unspecified damages and also wants to add other potential plaintiffs who may have the same grievances.

The suit alleges that Coffee Bean failed to put safeguards in place that could have prevented the illegal recordings from happening had its management and employees properly inspected and maintained its restrooms. A woman who answered the phone at Wenzel's office said he was not there and she could not respond on his behalf to the complaint, which alleges he planted the cameras.

A Coffee Bean representative did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. ``This is a gross invasion of privacy and deplorable that a lawyer who fights to protect consumers was involved in this type of activity,'' alleged Brian Kabateck, Smith's lead attorney. ``It is the responsibility of all retailers to protect their customers' right to privacy in a dressing room or bathroom.''

Last October, Smith, a frequent Coffee Bean patron, saw a flashing blue light while he was using the restroom that led him to find a recording device pointing toward the toilet, at which point he alerted store management, according to his suit. Within a week of his initial discovery, Smith found another camera aimed at the toilet in the same Coffee Bean and promptly handed it to the management, according to his court papers. Shortly thereafter, police arrested Wenzel on a misdemeanor charge at the second Coffee Bean location in Encino, according to the complaint.

His office is located between the two Coffee Bean stores where the cameras were planted, the suit states. A representative from the City Attorney's Office could not immediately verify whether, as stated in the lawsuit, Wenzel pleaded no contest and was ordered to stay 100 yards away from all Coffee Bean shops, perform 200 hours of community service and pay a $1,000 fine.