L APIN & L EICHTLING , LLP, 255 ALHAMBRA CIRCLE , S UITE 600, C ORAL G ABLES , F LORIDA 33134 (305) 569-4100

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

MIAMI DIVISION

SAMUEL HIGGS

Plaintiff,

vs. 

ATLANTIC & PACIFIC 

ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT, INC.

Defendant.

_________________________________/ 

CASE NO.: 

COMPLAINT

Plaintiff Samuel Higgs (“Mr. Higgs”) sues Defendant Atlantic & Pacific Association 

Management, Inc. (“A&P”) and alleges:

JURISDICTIONAL AND VENUE ALLEGATIONS

1. Plaintiff Mr. Higgs is an individual who resides in Miami-Dade County, Florida,

is sui juris, and above the age of 18. 

2. Defendant A&P is a Florida corporation with its main office in Boca Raton, FL 

and its mailing address in Bay Harbor Islands, FL. Defendant A&P does business in MiamiDade County, Florida, within this District. A&P employs thousands of employees. A&P’s acts 

and omissions underlying Mr. Higgs’ claims herein occurred in Miami-Dade County, Florida, 

within this district. 

3. This action arises out of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §2000(e) et

seq., such that this court has federal question jurisdiction over this action under 28 U.S.C. §1331. 

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FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS COMMON TO ALL COUNTS

4. Mr. Higgs is African-American and black. 

5. For more than 9 years, until his constructive termination in January 2019, Mr. 

Higgs was employed by A&P to work at the Waverly at South Beach, a condominium (the 

“Waverly”), whose address is 1330 West Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139. Mr. Higgs initially 

worked for A&P at the Waverly part-time, recruiting and training front-desk personnel. Mr.

Higgs then became a full-time employee as a supervisor at the front desk, and also provided 

administrative support to A&P’s management team.

6. Mr. Higgs was highly successful in his job, and enjoyed working for A&P at the 

Waverly, until April of 2018, when A&P hired a new property manager for the Waverly named 

Gina Slatcoff Chevannes (“Ms. Chevannes”). Ms. Chevannes had direct managerial and 

supervisory authority over Mr. Higgs and others, and had the power and authority to fire A&P 

employees who worked at The Waverly, including Mr. Higgs. 

7. Ms. Chevannes repeatedly and consistently harassed, mistreated and abused

A&P’s African-American and dark-skinned employees at the Waverly, including Mr. Higgs.

Ms. Chevannes’ abuse and mistreatment, described below, was not similarly directed toward

A&P’s light-skinned and/or white employees. Ms. Chevannes’ abusive behavior, specifically 

directed toward African-American and dark-skinned employees, including Mr. Higgs, was 

unwelcome, was based on their race and/or skin color, and included repeatedly speaking in a 

harsh, disrespectful and dismissive tone, assigning unnecessary, time-consuming and repetitive

tasks, snapping her fingers at them and banging her hands on their desks, ridiculing them, 

criticizing their appearance and/or attire, ordering an employee to engage in activities she knew 

would exacerbate a medical condition, making false derogatory statements about Mr. Higgs to 

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L APIN & L EICHTLING , LLP, 255 ALHAMBRA CIRCLE , S UITE 600, C ORAL G ABLES , F LORIDA 33134 (305) 569-4100

residents at the Waverly, and using the “N” word. Ms. Chevannes’ misconduct also included 

threatening to take away Mr. Higgs’ chair at the front desk, knowing that he suffers from a 

disease of the spine – Ankylosing Spondylitis -- which would become aggravated if he were 

required to stand for long periods of time. In addition, during her brief tenure at the Waverly, 

Ms. Chevannes specifically targeted for termination and either terminated, or caused to resign, 

numerous African-American and/or dark-skinned employees. Ms. Chevannes did not similarly 

target for termination white and light-skinned employees. Ms. Chevannes’ abuse, directed 

specifically toward the African-American and dark-skinned employees, created an atmosphere of 

terror and dread, and a hostile working environment, that was so pervasive so as to materially 

alter the terms of Mr. Higgs’ employment with A&P. 

8. Mr. Higgs reported Ms. Chevannes’ abusive misconduct to A&P repeatedly, both 

orally and in writing. Mr. Higgs reported Ms. Chevannes’ abusive misconduct both to A&P’s

Human Resources Department and to A&P’s management. 

9. A&P failed to take reasonable steps to investigate, prevent, correct, or address 

Ms. Chevannes’ abusive and discriminatory misconduct during the time in which Mr. Higgs was 

employed by A&P. To the contrary, A&P’s response to Mr. Higgs’ reports of Ms. Chevannes’ 

abuse included telling Mr. Higgs that he should forget the past and think only of the future, and 

that A&P stood by its managers. 

10. By failing to reasonably address Mr. Higgs’ complaints and by requiring Mr. 

Higgs to work under Ms. Chevannes’ repeated harassment and abuse, A&P imposed working 

conditions that were so intolerable that a reasonable person in Mr. Higgs’ position would have 

been compelled to resign. 

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L APIN & L EICHTLING , LLP, 255 ALHAMBRA CIRCLE , S UITE 600, C ORAL G ABLES , F LORIDA 33134 (305) 569-4100

11. On or around January 25, 2019, Mr. Higgs resigned from his position at the 

Waverly with A&P, as he was unable to further tolerate Ms. Chevannes’ abuse and harassment,

and because A&P had refused to take any action to further prevent Mr. Higgs and other AfricanAmerican and dark-skinned A&P employees at the Waverly from being subjected to Ms. 

Chevannes’ abuse. 

12. Mr. Higgs has retained undersigned counsel and is obligated to pay undersigned 

counsel a reasonable fee for their services. 

13. As a direct and proximate result of Ms. Chevannes’ abuse and misconduct, and 

A&P’s failure to investigate, prevent, correct and address Ms. Chevannes’ abuse and 

misconduct, Mr. Higgs suffered: emotional distress, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness and 

stomach cramps, a loss of back pay, loss of front pay, lost vacation time, loss of a promotion and

a demotion, and a reduction in his bonus. Mr. Higgs also seeks an award of punitive damages 

against A&P for Ms. Chevannes’ intentional misconduct as alleged herein, and A&P’s knowing 

failure to investigate, prevent, correct and address it.

14. All conditions precedent have been performed or have occurred.

15. On August 9, 2019, Mr. Higgs, through undersigned counsel, filed a charge letter 

setting forth the facts that form the basis for the claims herein with the Equal Employment 

Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). A genuine copy of Mr. Higgs’ charge letter is attached as “Ex. 

A” and incorporated herein. The EEOC issued a right to sue letter for Mr. Higgs’ claims against A&P

on April 30, 2020, a genuine copy of which is attached as “Ex. B”.

COUNT I–HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT UNDER TITLE VII

16. Mr. Higgs incorporates the allegations in paragraphs 1 through 15 as if fully set 

forth herein. 

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L APIN & L EICHTLING , LLP, 255 ALHAMBRA CIRCLE , S UITE 600, C ORAL G ABLES , F LORIDA 33134 (305) 569-4100

17. This is an action for hostile work environment under Title VII of the Civil Rights

Act of 1964. 

18. Mr. Higgs was subjected, while working for A&P, to unwelcome harassment and 

abuse by his direct supervisor Ms. Chevannes, as alleged in detail above. The unwelcome 

harassment and abuse was based on Mr. Higgs’ race and skin color. Ms. Chevannes also 

targeted and subjected numerous other African-American and dark-skinned A&P employees to 

harassment and abuse based upon their race and skin color, which harassment and abuse created 

an atmosphere of anxiety, dread and terror that directly, deeply and adversely affected Mr. 

Higgs. A&P employees at the Waverly who were not African-American and/or dark-skinned 

were treated substantially better by Ms. Chevannes, and were generally not subjected to her

harassment and abuse. 

19. The harassment and abuse was sufficiently severe and pervasive so as to 

materially alter the terms of Mr. Higgs’ employment with A&P and create an abusive and hostile

working environment. 

20. A&P failed to reasonably investigate, prevent, address and correct the harassment 

and abuse, even after having been informed of the harassment and abuse, knowingly electing to 

stand by Ms. Chevannes to the detriment of A&P’s dark-skinned and African-American 

employees, including Mr. Higgs. 

21. As a direct and proximate result of Ms. Chevannes’ harassment and abuse, and 

A&P’s knowing and intentional failure to reasonably investigate, prevent, address and correct the 

harassment and abuse, Mr. Higgs suffered damages, including but not limited to lost back pay,

lost front pay, emotional distress, depression, stomach cramps, loss of confidence, loss of ability 

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L APIN & L EICHTLING , LLP, 255 ALHAMBRA CIRCLE , S UITE 600, C ORAL G ABLES , F LORIDA 33134 (305) 569-4100

to obtain another job that pays as much as he was earning at A&P. Mr. Higgs also seeks and is

entitled to recover punitive damages against A&P.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff Samuel Higgs, demands judgment for compensatory damages, 

punitive damages, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs against Defendant Atlantic & Pacific 

Association Management, Inc. under Title VIII, and other relief the Court deems appropriate. 

COUNT II – CONSTRUCTIVE TERMINATION UNDER TITLE VII

22. Mr. Higgs incorporates the allegations in paragraphs 1 through 15 as if fully set 

forth herein. 

25. This is an action for constructive termination under Title VII of the Civil Rights 

Act of 1964. 

26. Mr. Higgs was subjected, while working for A&P, to unwelcome harassment and 

abuse by his direct supervisor Ms. Chevannes, as alleged in detail above. The unwelcome 

harassment and abuse were based on Mr. Higgs’ race and skin color. Ms. Chevannes also 

targeted and subjected numerous other African-American and dark-skinned A&P employees to 

harassment and abuse based upon their race and skin color, which harassment and abuse created 

an atmosphere of anxiety, dread and terror that directly, deeply and adversely affected Mr. 

Higgs. A&P employees at the Waverly who were not African-American and/or dark-skinned 

were treated substantially better by Ms. Chevannes, and were generally not subjected to her

harassment and abuse. 

27. Mr. Higgs’ working conditions at A&P, while under the direct supervision of Ms. 

Chevannes, were so intolerable that a reasonable person in his position would have been 

compelled to resign. 

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L APIN & L EICHTLING , LLP, 255 ALHAMBRA CIRCLE , S UITE 600, C ORAL G ABLES , F LORIDA 33134 (305) 569-4100

29. A&P failed to reasonably investigate, prevent, address and correct the harassment 

and abuse, even after having been informed of the harassment and abuse, knowingly electing to 

stand by Ms. Chevannes to the detriment of A&P’s dark-skinned and African-American 

employees, including Mr. Higgs. 

30. Unable to tolerate the working conditions at A&P under Ms. Chevannes’ 

management, Mr. Higgs resigned from his employment with A&P in January 2019. 

31. As a direct and proximate result of Ms. Chevannes’ harassment and abuse, and 

A&P’s knowing and intentional failure to reasonably investigate, prevent, address and correct the 

harassment and abuse, which led to Mr. Higgs’ constructive termination, Mr. Higgs suffered 

damages, including but not limited to lost back pay, lost front pay, emotional distress, 

depression, stomach cramps, loss of confidence, loss of ability to obtain another job that pays as

much as he was earning at A&P. Mr. Higgs also seeks and is entitled to recover punitive 

damages against A&P.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff Samuel Higgs, demands judgment for compensatory damages, 

punitive damages, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs against Defendant Atlantic & Pacific 

Association Management, Inc. under Title VII, and other relief the Court deems appropriate. 

DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL

Plaintiff Samuel Higgs demands a trial by jury of all issues so triable. 

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L APIN & L EICHTLING , LLP, 255 ALHAMBRA CIRCLE , S UITE 600, C ORAL G ABLES , F LORIDA 33134 (305) 569-4100

Dated: May 28, 2020 

Respectfully submitted,

LAPIN & LEICHTLING, LLP

Attorneys for Plaintiff

255 Alhambra Circle 

Suite 600

Coral Gables, Florida 33134 

Telephone No.: (305) 569-4100 

Facsimile No.: (305) 569-0000 

By: /s/ Jonathan R. Rosenn 

JONATHAN R. ROSENN

Florida Bar No.: 101346 

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