Hotels and Hospitality Industry Expert Witnesses: 7

Gary Deel, Ph.D., J.D. has 10 years of experience in executive-level positions in the hospitality industry and 10 years of experience teaching hospitality management and law curriculum for some of the nation's top hotel schools.

Dr. Deel holds both a Ph.D. in Hospitality and a J.D. in Law, so he understands the nuances of expert witness testimony from the perspective of attorney strategy. He has also worked in a variety of different hospitality industry capacities including operations, sales, security and risk management, training and administration, and others. His services are available to help attorneys make the strongest possible arguments for clients in hospitality-related cases. Dr. Deel offers expert witness services nationwide in the areas of:

Recent Cases:

• Suit against Miami beach resort involving catastrophic injury in the ocean and hotel duty to warn about latent hazards known to hotel and not obvious to visitors (plaintiff).
• Suit against Orlando city center convention hotel involving sexual assault of a minor guest by an employee and hotel duty to monitor employee whereabouts and activities (plaintiff).

J. Robert Bazemore is a Furniture, Product, and Interior Designer with more than 40 years of professional experience in the design, development, manufacturing, specification, installation, and field performance of furniture and interior products. As Principal of J. Robert Bazemore Designs, Inc. since 2002, he has designed and developed hundreds of products and environments for commercial, hospitality, healthcare, institutional, workplace, retail, and residential applications.

Litigation Support - Ideal clients include law firms, insurance carriers, manufacturers, property owners, and other parties requiring independent analysis of Product Liability or Premises Liability matters involving furniture and interior components. He accepts engagements from both plaintiff and defense counsel. The ideal engagement allows for early involvement, a clearly defined scope, preservation of the subject product, access to relevant drawings, specifications, photographs, maintenance records, and discovery materials, and an opportunity to conduct a site or product inspection when appropriate.

Areas of Expertise:

Mr. Bazemore's background combines design leadership with extensive practical experience coordinating engineers, manufacturers, fabricators, suppliers, installers, and end users. His products have been manufactured and marketed by nationally recognized contract-furniture companies. His work has received Best of NeoCon Gold, NeoCon Editors’ Choice, and other industry honors.

Mr. Bazemore also served as a Professor of Furniture Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design from 2009 through 2017. His combination of design expertise, manufacturing knowledge, and field experience allows him to identify and explain complex product and interior-environment issues in clear, practical terms.

Leonard J. Backer has over 28 years of extensive and successful Seating, Tables and  Furniture Industry experience in all key areas. Mr. Backer has been directly involved in the design and development of 250+ seating and table collections. He specializes in Private Label Manufacturing, Sourcing, and Product Development expertise. Mr. Backer provides aggressive Expert Witness and Litigation Support services to attorneys, insurers and businesses for Plaintiff or Defense. He performs site inspections, detailed product reviews and incident analyses. He has worked with law firms and insurance companies to develop and coordinate strategies for various types of legal actions and lawsuits. Very strong hospitality background. Mr. Backer has extensive experience with hotel, restaurant, cruise ship, retail store and senior living incidents. Personal Injury and Product Liability Cases. He provides detailed analyses, written opinions, and expert witness reports for clients throughout the U.S. Strong proven deposition and court testimony. Areas of Expertise:

View Leonard Backer's Consulting Profile.

Monica Ballard is an Organizational Development Consultant with 25 years of experience specializing in the Prevention of Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation. She has trained over 500 Human Resources professionals in conducting investigations and trained over 10,000 persons on the subjects of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

Monica has written over 20 workbooks and produced 4 web-based training programs on the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, and has written 4 workbooks on Conducting Effective Investigations. She has served as a consultant for numerous Fortune 500 companies, including American Express, ARCO, Sizzler Int’l, First Interstate Bank, Exxon, Jack-in-the Box, Washington Mutual Bank, Ritz Carlton Hotels, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, RAND Corporation, MCA/Universal Studios, MTA, and Motown Record Company. 

Monica has been Interviewed on CBS News, CNN, and Fox News, and featured in newspapers including the WSJ, LA Times (8 times), US News & World Report, Time Magazine, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, New York Times, and others. 

Litigation Support - Monica has been designated an expert witness in 226 Employment Lawsuits. She has testified at trial or arbitration 20 times. Approximately 50% of her cases have been for the plaintiff, and 50% for the defense. She has been used by the EEOC as an outside Human Resources Consultant and twice in EEOC litigation.

Areas of Expertise:

Monica has been designated to testify on the following topics:

• Company anti-harassment, anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation training. Was the training compliant with State and Federal laws?
• Company policies and procedures on those same topics. Were the company's policies compliant under both State law and Federal law?
• The investigation into employee complaints - were the investigations adequate and reasonable?
• Were the investigations conducted immediately, in an objective manner, and were they thorough and complete?
• Did the investigators come to a conclusion after the investigation?
• Did the investigators communicate the results of the investigation to the complainant, the alleged perpetrator and those others with a "need to know"?
• Did the investigators and the employer remedy the situation?
• Did they ameliorate the effects of the harassment, the discrimination and/or the retaliation?
• Did the employer guard against retaliation and did the employer continue to monitor the workplace after the complaint was resolved?
• Did the employer have effective accommodations for employees with disabilities, and did the company engage in an interactive process with the employee with a disability?

View Parallax Education's Consulting Profile.

Dennis Gemberling, CHA, CFBE, FMP, FCSI, President and Founder of Perry Group International, has over 35 years of experience in the Hospitality Management industry. His experience includes managing, operating, and consulting on full-service, limited-service, extended-stay, all-suite, condo and timeshare hotels and resorts, casual, fine-dining, and quick-service restaurants, bars and nightclubs, catering and special event facilities, casinos, and mixed-use real estate. 

Mr. Gemberling has held prior positions for different owners, operators, and chains as Senior Vice President, General Manager, Director of Food & Beverage, and Restaurant Unit Manager. He has been retained on over 400 projects with typical values in the $1 million to $75 million range and revenues in the $1 million to $100 million range both nationally and internationally. His many clients have include among others Biscuits & Blues, Cantina’s, Chevy’s, Choice Hotels, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inns, Hilton, Holiday Inns, Hooter’s Casino, Hyatt, Marriott, McDonald’s, Microtel Inn & Suites, Outback Restaurants, Radisson, Residence Inns, Signature Resort, Sizzler, Sonic Drive-Ins, Starbucks, Starwood, Sheraton, Togo’s, Wendy’s, and Willie Mays Skybox Lounge. 

Litigation Support: Dennis Gemberling is a Certified Hotel Administrator, Certified Food and Beverage Executive, Certified Foodservice Management Professional, and Certified Food Safety Manager. He offers expert witness services to attorneys for plaintiff and defendant cases on a variety of Hospitality-related claims. He is a Professional Member of Foodservice Consultants Society International and the Forensic Expert Witness Association. Mr. Gemberling also provides expertise as a Court Appointed Receiver and Interim Property Manager and is currently the Past President and a Board of Director for the California Receivers Forum – Bay Area Chapter. 

Areas of Expertise:

View Dennis Gemberling's Consulting Profile.

David Rutecki's career spans 39 years of Restaurant and Hospitality related experience. Working in more than 20 restaurants and involved in the opening of more than a dozen, he has worked every position possible within this industry. Mr. Rutecki currently owns and operates Mountain Deli in Hendersonville, garnering the 2016, 2017 & 2018 Blue Ridge Growth Award. He is a Member of the North Carolina and National Restaurant Associations. Mr. Rutecki has been invloved in the following selected restaurants:

• Fancy’s Food and Wine, Gourmet Shop, Coral Gables, South Miami & Grove Isle, Fl.
• Susie’s Bagels, Breakfast Restaurant, South Miami, Fl.
• Pizzaria Uno, Full Service Restaurant, Miami, Fl.
• Baystreet, Full Service Seafood Restaurant, Miami, Fl.
• Rusty Pelican, Upscale Seafood, Key Biscayne, Miami, Fl.
• Rudolph's BBQ, Upscale BBQ, Miami, Fl.
• Signature Gardens, Upscale Catering Hall, Miami, Fl.
• Chart House, Upscale Seafood, Coconut grove, Fl.
• Cafe Tu Tu Tango, Coconut Grove, Fl.
• Gatsby’s, Upscale Billiards and Cigar Bar, Boca Raton, Fl.
• Prezzo, Casual Italian, Boca Raton, Fl.
• Maxwell’s Chophouse, Upscale Steakhouse, Boca Raton, Fl.
• Mountain Deli, Delicatessen, Downtown Hendersonville, NC
• Tabica Grill, Upscale American, Jupiter, Fl.
• Jonathon's Landing Marina Club, Upscale Boating Club, Jupiter, Fl
• Jetty's, Upscale Seafood, Jupiter, Fl.
• Austin Grill, Casual, Washington, DC.

Litigation Support - David Rutecki offers expert witness and litigation support for restaurant related issues in the United States. His services are available to counsel representing both Plaintiff and Defendant. Areas of Expertise:

• Restaurant and Kitchen Design, Menu Development
• Food Safety and Sanitation
• Bar Operations & Liquor Liability... Dram Shop
• Safety & Security - Slips, Trips and Falls
• Daily Operations & Management, Employee & Staffing Issues
• Retail Operations
• Staff & Mgmt Training Programs & Handbooks
• Business Plan Development

Jeff Nelken, MA, retired RD is a Food Safety / HACCP Expert with 40 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He specializes in Food Safety, Accident Prevention, Inspections, Audits, and Training. 

Litigation Cases Include:

View Jeff Nelken's Consulting Profile.