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Royal Spa owner prevails in suits involving ex-employee

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The co-owner of Indianapolis-based Royal Spa Corp. has prevailed in a year-long legal dispute in which he and a former executive of the company sued one another in separate courts.

Royal Spa CEO Robert Dapper won a judgment of $8,484 against ex-employee Kevin Roessler, and had a complaint and counterclaim against him from Roessler and his wife dismissed.

Court records revealed no details about the dismissals, and lawyers representing both sides declined to comment on the suits.

The dismissals likely put an end to a salacious legal spat that included sexually charged allegations against Dapper and sordid details of the swinging lifestyle of Roessler, according to court papers.

The court battle began in October 2011, when Dapper sued Roessler and his wife, Marcella Roessler, charging that Roessler failed to pay for a spa that he purchased from the store on a payment schedule.

The remaining amount of $8,484, including a $2,000 loan Dapper said he gave Roessler, came due in full upon his departure from the company in March 2011. Roessler had served as Royal Spa’s director of business development since June 2008.

Dapper also named Roessler’s wife in the suit, claiming that the couple threatened to make damaging allegations against Dapper if he did not write Roessler a check.

Dapper won his judgment against the Roesslers in Marion Superior Court in March.

Six months later, on Sept. 10, Dapper also had a counterclaim filed against him by Marcella Roessler dismissed. Her suit claimed that Dapper defamed her by making false and sexually degrading statements about her to a couple interested in buying a hot tub from Royal Spa.

In the meantime, Kevin Roessler charged in federal court that Dapper sexually harassed him and his wife after learning that he had an “open” marriage, court papers said.

After discovering Roessler’s lifestyle, Dapper began to request that Roessler invite him to events where couples shared their sexual partners, according to the suit filed in April. Roessler insists in the complaint that he did not want to combine his personal life with his work and was hesitant to invite Dapper to the events.

Roessler, however, alleged that Dapper became so strident in his demands to be invited that he threatened to fire Roessler if he did not comply, so he relented.

Federal Judge Tanya Walton Pratt dismissed Roessler’s suit against Dapper in late August. No explanation was given for the decision in court documents.

Dapper co-founded Royal Spa in 1981 with Rick Bartlett. The company is headquartered at 2041 W. Epler Ave. on the south side. It has three company-owned locations and more than 50 dealers in Indiana and 10 other states, in addition to Belgium and the Netherlands, according to the company’s website.
 

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  • About Time
    I was glad to read that Mr. Dapper had prevailed. I hope that everyone that reported it as news in the beginning-will also feel compelled to let everyone know that he has prevailed. These people have tried to ruin Mr. Dapper's reputation-everyone needs to know that Bob prevailed and it was obvious to the courts that the other party causing the problem were in the wrong.
  • The Truth
    It was just as harmfull to the Roessler's who were speaking the truth. The outcome written here is clearly incomplete, since the specifics are undisclosed in court documents.
  • Kudos
    Kudos to IBJ for this story clarifying what previously to Dapper was a devastating and personally harmful report. Now Channel 8 and WIBC should get on board with their clarifications.

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    1. liek the rest of America

    2. These quaint,obsessed musings by the stalkers are certainly entertaining, but I'm trying to figure out what, if anything, all the yelping below has to do with Zak Brown.

    3. It's evident that Moffett was pushing the right buttons and corporate America is now trying to squash him. He just wanted to withdraw the free pilot services provided to the company by the pilots to try and put some pressure on a company that has not been interested in negotiating a contract in over 5 years. The company does not provide a contract because not having one has saved them a bundle of money. Shame on any Republic pilots not standing behind their union leader just because things are getting tough, can you not see such strategic moves by the company as putting the last union president in a corporate position and into THEIR pocket. Do you really believe the last union president is so appalled at the attempts by Moffett, do you not remember his oppositions to the company? We stood behind him. It has been proven over and over again for thousands of years without fail, a man cannot serve two masters. Anyone that believes people vote contrary to their paycheck and livelihood deserve to be taken advantage of, the recent statements by the former union president are laughable as he denounces the current union president from his new corporate position. Have you ever seen a drafted sports player score points for his previous team, it cannot be done, he is not on the pilots side anymore, he gets his money a different way now than you and I do, and he should not be allowed to remain on the seniority list. A drafted player brings strength, credibility, tactical knowledge, and a strategic advantage to his NEW team, he would not be drafted or paid were it otherwise. We are all forced to choose only one side to play for and support, not doing so has many references in life such as insider trading and shaving points, all illegal for good reason. This basic fact is why corporate moguls, scientist, and engineers all sign non-discloser agreements and non-compete clauses, as protection in case they are lured into switching sides as our former union president has done. No NFL coach ever drafted a player so that both teams could benefit and better understand each other, they are recruited to win the game against that former team, period. Likewise the company does not recruit the former union president by accident or mutual understanding, its strategy. Don't confuse playing the game with good sportsman-like conduct in support of common business and prosperity goals, with the requirement to only play for one side. Good men we all love and favor fall subject to this manipulation, often without their knowledge, and it is not a betrayal of their friendship to oppose them when they switch sides. If we did not love and trust them, they would not have been chosen and lured to the other side in the first place. The deception by the drafted player is not made at a conscious level, it's just human nature and it's all about money and power which corrupts our ability to be objective and loyal to two masters. This is why our court system created the defense attorney, and why our military created counter intelligence. Its strategy and its propaganda, and it works, and that's why the "powers to be" manipulate the chess pieces by sometimes changing their colors. Some players know they are being manipulated when their color is changed, but it brings them more money and power so they do not care. The rest have good intentions but do not even realize they are being manipulated. This tactic is also known by another name, Divide and Conquer. In battle sending an imperfect message with an imperfect team is obviously not ideal, but it's still being sent by YOUR team, your union leader, a leader that has common goals and common rewards with you, they are the best, because we have elected them to do a job for us. If you are not backing Moffett but believing the spin by those that have recently switched sides, you are taking food out of your own mouth. Showing unity and backing an imperfect situation still results in taking just as much ground, it's about unity and bargaining power. It's not necessary to wait around for that perfect attack because it will never come, the company will spin and attempt to destroy anyone that gets in their way. Ultimately it's not about any specific attack anyway, ASAP or whatever it makes no difference, it is and always has been only about power. If this company cared about safety it would not build pairings with 8 hour overnights, come on, are you that naive? Besides, do you really think Hoffa cares, no, he got a call from corporate America and was squeezed into denouncing Moffett. If he didn't they would spin the safety card against him and the Teamsters National with implication for truckers, future contracts, insurance rates etc...saying something like the Teamsters use safety as a bargaining chip, blah blah blah... Do you really think any pilot is going to do something unsafe for the contract, absolutely not, the only ones threatening safety here is the company with reduced rest, fatigue, and poverty. Do you not find it odd that Hoffa and the Teamsters are opposing a Teamster president publicly? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and work with one of their own? Why did they not sit down and help him strategize, correct any mistakes, and charge ahead? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and leverage a contract for all those pilots that have been paying Teamster dues, isn't that why we have all been paying Teamster dues in the first place? I sure haven't been paying dues so that the Teamsters National could come along and write this kind of an article undercutting our union leader and our unity. Whose side is the Teamsters National really on, it's obviously not the Republic pilots side.

    4. No matter what Moffatt does the company is going to spin it like he is the terrorist and brainwash people like you into believing it, wake up, back your players that are trying to change things for you and your livelihood. Where has Hoffa been for the last 6 years, except collecting our dues. Seriously, do you really think an FO going for upgrade, signed off by a checkairman ready for the upgrade, who then fails, is not even capable of returning as a First Officer.

    5. whoa!

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