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Bar tab dispute leaves man shaken

A man is jailed for not paying a bill he deems high.

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published January 31, 2007

Ray Barnett likes his martinis cheap, and he doesn't want any lip about it.

It is a stance that landed the 88-year-old Navy veteran in jail two weeks ago, after he refused to pay his happy hour bill. Barnett was handcuffed and kicked out of JD's Restaurant & Lounge, a popular surf and turf bar on Gulf Boulevard.

"All I told them was, 'I think I should pay what I owe,' and they called the cops on me," Barnett explained after he was released from the Pinellas County Jail on charges of theft and resisting arrest on Jan. 20.

It is just the latest case of a restaurant patron refusing to pay the bill and the calamity that can ensue. In October, a New Port Richey man was taken to court after he refused to pay for a seafood pasta dish even after he ate it because there wasn't enough shrimp on his plate. The man was later found not guilty.

Restaurant owners say they aren't quite sure where the confusion lies. The rules of society clearly state: You eat or drink it, you pay for it.

The rules of law usually consider stiffing a restaurant bill petty theft, and offenders can be arrested, said Sgt. Jim Bordner, a spokesman for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. All cases are referred to the State Attorney's Office, which then decides whether to press charges or not.

But as Barnett points out, sometimes bill disputes aren't so black and white.

The day of the arrest was a breezy Saturday afternoon. Barnett said he and a lady friend were hungry and a little thirsty.

JD's, with its well-known, all-day happy hour special, seemed like the ideal choice. Up until 6:30 p.m., all cocktails are $2.25, a bargain compared to the regular $6 price tag.

Barnett said he ordered a small martini, two cosmopolitans, some blackened shrimp and a plate of fried oysters. But when the bill came, he had been charged full price for the drinks, even though it was about 4 p.m. So he called his waitress over and asked her to fix it.

Turns out he was drinking full-size drinks. The happy hour drinks are served in 4-ounce glasses. The regular drinks are in 7.5-ounce glasses. Barnett said he was never told there was a difference and refused to pay the total of $40.43.

JD's owner Leslie Downing says normally she is forgiving if a customer complains about the bill and will make adjustments.

But Barnett had eaten at JD's before. He had even complained about the happy hour drinks before and had been told of the price differences.

"Prices are skyrocketing, insurance is going up and with everything else, god, you gotta pay the damn bill," Downing said. "If there is something wrong with the food, I will take it off . . . but by god they drank those martinis."

Even so, Barnett said he should not have had to pay full price. And he really doesn't believe he should have been dragged off in handcuffs.

"I paid my just dues all my life," he said. "I pay cash when I buy a car, I paid cash when I bought a house, when FDR was president. I have always paid my way all my life . . . and then they put me in jail all afternoon and all evening with young people and I was just waiting and waiting . . . I'm very sad about my country."

Cristina Silva can be reached at 727 893-8846 or csilva@sptimes.com.

[Last modified January 30, 2007, 22:33:02]