New York ophthalmologist David Kwiat, MD, is suing Jason Houle, a butcher shop worker, for $250,000 over a request that the physician wear a mask, according to court documents.
Dr. Kwiat, who runs Kwiat Eye and Laser Surgery in Amsterdam, N.Y., filed the 42-page lawsuit in Albany federal court. Most of the lawsuit lays out arguments against masks and describes the pandemic as a fraud.
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Houle said he would not serve Dr. Kwiat, who wanted to buy a steak, until Dr. Kwiat put on a mask. New York's indoor mask mandate was in effect at the time. Dr. Kwiat said the mask mandate was illegal, asked for Houle's business card and left.
"I said, 'Do you have a mask?' He said no. I said, 'I can provide you with a mask if you like,'" Mr. Houle told Times Union. "It was pretty nonconfrontational."
Dr. Kwiat is representing himself in the filing, which seeks at least $250,000 in damages from store manager Mr. Houle for shame, stress, embarrassment and loss of appetite resulting from what he alleges is discrimination and a civil rights violation, the Times Union report said.