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Christine Gallinaro and her son, J.G., who has autism and is nonverbal, had tickets for Disney’s “Elemental” at Showtimes at Cinemark Hazlet 12 on June 16, according to the family's attorney, R. Armen McOmber.
Trouble began when Gallinaro brought her son into the women's restroom with her for the second time that day, as the theater did not have family restrooms, leaving her with no other choice, according to the suit filed Tuesday, July 25 in Monmouth County Superior Court (see PDFT attachment).
As J.G. was washing his hands, Gallinaro stood by the door, which was propped open with a trash can. That's when she was approached by a manager of the theater, who said the boy was not allowed in the women's restroom, the suit says. Gallinaro explained her son was disabled.
In the meantime, someone called the police.
When police arrived, Gallinaro began recording on her cell phone.
“I don’t agree with what she did,” an assistant manager says on the cell phone video, referring to the movie theater's manager. “But you’re causing a disturbance, so leave.”
A police officer told Gallinaro off camera that she and her son had to leave, the video recording shows.
A manager of the Hazlet Cinemark theater declined to comment to Daily Voice.
Gallinaro's attorney called the allegations "very disturbing."
"We stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients in exposing this outrageous and unlawful behavior,” McOmber said, noting J.G. was "traumatized by blatantly discriminatory conduct on the part of Defendants... simply because he needed to use the bathroom while seeing a movie with his mother."
The lawsuit names the Hazlet theater, Cinemark USA, the manager, the assistant manager, and other John Does.
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