A man claiming he was fired from a Budweiser distributor for drinking Coors publicly criticized his employer while in his uniform at a Greeley bar, the company’s attorney says.
Ross Hopkins, who filed a lawsuit against the company in 2003, also decided to publicize his suit after the firm served him last week with papers requiring Hopkins to explain certain facts about the case, said Jeff Bedingfield, who represents American Eagle Distributing Co.
“We don’t believe him going to the media is purely coincidental,” Bedingfield said. “We believe he has to try this case in the media, while we feel it is more proper to try it in the courts.”
Hopkins said the company’s allegation “saddens me.” “I know they have to protect themselves, but, doggone it, they know I’m right.”
Hopkins, who worked as a warehouse supervisor for American Eagle, is suing the company for unspecified damages. He claims that he went to a Greeley bar in 2003 and was mistakenly given a Coors.
He had taken a couple of sips from the beer when the son-in-law of the company’s president offered twice to buy him a Budweiser. Hopkins declined and was fired two days later for disloyalty, according to his suit.
According to Bedingfield, witnesses say Hopkins made disparaging comments about the company while at the bar. He also was wearing a company hat and the company’s “required attire,” Bedingfield said.
But the company has yet to say what those disparaging comments were, said Hopkins. And, he added, “How goofy would it be for me to put on that uniform and wear that on a Saturday night? I don’t get it.”
The company says Hopkins was demoted two weeks before he was fired. But, Hopkins said, it was more of a “restructuring” of personnel that would have netted him more money than his supervisor job.
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
