A former employee is taking legal action against a major beverage company, alleging gender discrimination and wrongful termination. Lisa Lindenfelser filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan on January 7, 2026, against her former employer, Refresco. The lawsuit accuses Refresco of retaliating against Lindenfelser after she reported discriminatory behavior by a colleague.
Lindenfelser’s lawsuit details her brief tenure at Refresco, where she claims to have made significant contributions within just one month of employment. She alleges that during this time, she identified areas for improvement within the company’s processes and culture and established strong business relationships across various departments. However, issues arose when Jim Cullen, assigned as her “peer partner,” allegedly made unsolicited comments about her personality during their first meeting on August 6, 2025. Cullen reportedly advised Lindenfelser to suppress her “bubbly personality” to succeed professionally. Despite expressing disagreement with Cullen’s remarks and requesting that future feedback focus solely on job performance, Lindenfelser claims Cullen became defensive and mentioned he was instrumental in hiring her.
Feeling uncomfortable with Cullen’s behavior, Lindenfelser reported the incident to Mary Sbonek from Human Resources. She conveyed that Cullen’s comments were discriminatory towards her gender and noted similar treatment of other female employees by Cullen. Despite assurances from Sbonek that the behavior was unacceptable and would be addressed, Lindenfelser was terminated just days later by Andrew Farley, Senior Director of Information Systems, who cited a poor fit as the reason for dismissal.
The lawsuit argues that Refresco violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) by discriminating based on gender and retaliating against an employee for reporting such discrimination. It also claims a breach of Michigan Public Policy due to retaliation following internal reporting of alleged violations.
Lindenfelser seeks several forms of relief from the court: injunctive relief, declaratory judgment, liquidated damages, punitive damages under Michigan Public Policy, ELCRA, and Title VII; equitable relief; compensatory damages; exemplary damages; civil penalties; attorney fees; and any additional relief deemed appropriate by the court.
Representing Lisa Lindenfelser are attorneys Noah S. Hurwitz and Brendan J. Childress from Hurwitz Law PLLC in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The case has been filed under Case ID 1:26-cv-00052 in front of an unspecified judge at this time.
Source: 126cv52_Lisa_Lindenfelser_v_Refresco_Complaint_Western_District_of_Michigan.pdf
