Nearly $8 million awarded to former Acadia restaurant worker targeted in four-year harassment campaign

After four years of intimidation, five days of testimony and two hours of deliberation, a jury awarded $4.5 million to a restaurant worker who sued an acclaimed Chicago chef.

Cody Nason, former head of the closed Acadia restaurant in the South Loop neighborhood, won a unanimous verdict on September 20 against Ryan McCaskey, chef and owner of the collapsed Michelin-starred restaurant.

Nason sued McCaskey for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and tortious interference with a contract. A systematic online harassment campaign targeted the former employee, which he alleged was perpetrated by his former employer. The jury award included an additional $2 million in damages, reflecting the defendant’s egregious conduct, the plaintiff’s attorneys said.

Nason also sued Corby Hagan, a former McCaskey restaurant manager. However, Hagan dropped out of the lawsuit and defaulted. Cook County Judge Daniel Kubasiak entered judgment in the amount of $3,450,411.82, according to the plaintiff’s attorneys.

Although each defendant is responsible for the judgment against them, the jury’s verdict and verdict total $7,950,412.

The former service captain had only been with Acadia for six months in 2019.

In June 2020, an account called The 86’d List was launched on Instagram, anonymously sharing stories of racism and abuse in the Chicago restaurant industry. In July 2020, a post appeared criticizing McCaskey, apparently from multiple sources.

But in August 2020, a targeted harassment campaign began, including a now-defunct website at codynason.com that included personal contact information, racist and homophobic language, requests for sex, and references to a brother who died at age 31.

Nason was granted a stalking restraining order against McCaskey in September 2020, but left Chicago anyway due to concerns about the harassment.

Four years later, both Nason and McCaskey testified at length in person during the five-day trial at the Daley Center.

Following the recent judgment in his favor, the plaintiff issued a statement through his attorneys at Saper Law.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents for allowing me to pursue justice. It’s been a long ride,” Nason wrote. “I would like to thank Daliah Saper, Brandon Beymer, Chris Theodosis and her entire legal team for the attention and precision they have brought over the past four long, difficult years. I would also like to thank the jury and the court for hearing all the testimony, reviewing all the evidence and reaching a fair verdict.”

McCaskey hid behind internet aliases, according to Saper Law. But the legal team “carefully pieced together the evidence” in support of Nason’s case. They “subpoenaed AT&T, GoDaddy, and US Bank, among others, to obtain phone records, website records, and bank statements and matched them to the dates of the harassment.” This evidence, according to the law firm, was crucial to demonstrate the chef’s active role in orchestrating the campaign against his client.

An attorney for the suspect emailed a statement when the chief was asked for comment on the verdict.

“Ryan McCaskey is deeply disappointed by the jury’s verdict in this case,” wrote Roger Malavia, partner at The Malavia Law Firm. “He has always maintained that he is not liable for posting any defamatory content and has never done so. Mr. McCaskey does not accept the jury’s decision and will continue to maintain his innocence throughout the appeal process until he is vindicated and his reputation is restored.”

McCaskey was also reached directly via an Instagram message, but he provided no further comment at the time of publication.

Hagan could not immediately be reached for comment.

When asked to comment on McCaskey’s statement, Nason responded by email through his attorney Daliah Saper.

“I am incredibly grateful for the work that Daliah and her team did and I fully trust that their work was thorough enough to withstand any objections,” Nason wrote. “I am not the least bit surprised that Mr. McCaskey would attempt to appeal the decision, but a jury of twelve had the opportunity to hear Mr. McCaskey’s arguments and still found for me. I have no doubt that an appellate court will do the same.”

When Saper was asked about next steps, she responded by email.

“Mr. McCaskey will have to decide whether to seriously appeal,” Saper wrote. “If so, we will continue to represent Cody to ensure that Mr. McCaskey pays him every portion of the $4.5 million the jury awarded him.”

“Unless the appeal is successful, Cody will have a jury verdict/court order from which he can begin collection,” she added. “It doesn’t mean he automatically gets the full verdict. Collections can be a process.”

When asked what he is doing now and what he will do next, Nason responded by email through his attorney.

“I currently live in Los Angeles and continue to work in the restaurant industry,” he wrote, requesting privacy for his new position and location.

It is unclear where McCaskey is and what he is doing. He was executive chef this summer at The Restaurant at Pilgrim’s Inn in Maine, where he had returned for a second season, but his last day was a week before the trial began, according to innkeeper and owner Lindsay Schmurr, who responded by email , but declined to comment further. Before this season ended, another chef took over.

The trial began on September 16 in Chicago.

The chef’s personal story was once part of lore and perhaps a lure for what would become his acclaimed restaurant.

He was born in Vietnam, reportedly the son of a teenage mother.

Raymond and Judy McCaskey of Palatine adopted the child, then named Tam Truong Tran, as part of a U.S. government program called Operation Babylift in 1975. The couple are known for their philanthropy and donated $11.5 million to Wartburg College in Iowa. It is the alma mater of Raymond McCaskey, president and CEO of Health Care Service Corp., one of whose subsidiaries is Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois.

The chef is not a member of the McCaskey family that owns the Chicago Bears.

McCaskey grew up vacationing with his family at their home in Maine. The state’s culinary history ultimately inspired Acadia to include lobster and foie gras on its tasting menus. The chef opened his fine dining restaurant New American Cuisine in 2011. Michelin awarded him one star in 2012 and two stars in 2015. Former Tribune restaurant critic Phil Vettel awarded Acadia four stars, its highest rating, in 2016. The restaurant retained its Michelin stars. until it was shut down, effective in July 2020 following accusations from The 86’d List, and then permanently in October 2021.

McCaskey was also a five-time James Beard Award semifinalist from 2014 to 2018. The foundation has instituted a new code of ethics for awards in 2022, investigating chefs accused of misconduct, banning them from an award but not from nomination. The annual gala ceremony has been held in Chicago since 2015 and will continue until 2027.

Michelin does not have a similar code of ethics that has been made public.

Meanwhile, Nason is ready to turn the page.

“I look forward to moving on with my life and making sure what happened to me doesn’t define me for the rest of my life.”

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