Roc City Bar & Grill Sues Joliet Woman: 'Such Posts Are Defamation Asserting Criminal Conduct By Plaintiffs'

ROCKDALE, IL — Kevin Batus, owner of Rockdale's enormously popular Roc City Bar & Grill, has filed a civil lawsuit at the Will County Courthouse against one of his former employees, Amber Pennuto of Joliet, accusing her of defamation and also nonpayment of a loan.

"Defendant Pennuuto also called the owners/management thieves in an effort to dissuade any potential employees from seeking employment there," states the lawsuit from Third Base Lounge doing business as Roc City Bar & Grill.

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According to the lawsuit, Batus is president of Third Base Lounge and Roc City Bar & Grill is in Rockdale. Pennuto, a Joliet resident, formerly was employed at Roc City in the kitchen in charge of food preparation and storage.

She was a certified food protection manager.

"Pennuto voluntarily resigned after having an argument with a co-owner of Third Base," the lawsuit reveals. "Prior to Pennuto resigning, plaintiffs loaned Pennuto $1,500 to get her through what she had described as a tax refund problem. Batus also provided transportation to Pennuto so she could get to work.

"Starting on April 1, 2026, defendant Pennuto began a social media campaign to destroy the reputation of Third Base in the Will County area and in surrounding counties," the lawsuit advised Will County's judges. "From approximately April 1, 2026 through the date of filing of this complaint, defendant posted on Facebook continually targeting Roc City Bar & Grill falsely by claiming the food preparation practices were below standards to dissuade patrons and potential patrons from dining at plaintiffs' restaurant."

The plaintiff's lawyer, Terry Fox of Terry A. Fox Law Offices in Maple Park, included several defamation exhibits as part of Roc City's lawsuit against Pennuto.

One exhibit stated, "So NOW let's show the community what frauds they are and the kitchen in which their 'delicious legendary beef rolls' are being made at. I am done keeping my mouth shut."

According to Roc City's defamation lawsuit, "directly below Pennuto's message was a photo of cockroaches, with a photo of a cockroach on a white tile floor. That post received 105 views. A true and correct copy of the post obtained from Pennuto's Facebook page is attached ... defendant posted photos which appear to have been taken of one of the two kitchens at the restaurant but used these unauthorized photos to suggest sanitation practices were not followed."

According to Terry A. Fox Law Offices, "the same photos appear to have been used in a complaint to the Will County Health Department ... that complaint was made by Pennuto. Notes from the department's inspection reject any unlawful conduct or unsanitary activities by Third Base or Batus."

The lawsuit points out how the Will County Health Department indicated that Roc City Bar & Grill has a tan colored floor while the photo submitted by Pennuto depicted a cockroach on a white tile floor. Also, no health or sanitation ordinance violations were found.

"Defendant complained online of the sanitary conditions in the kitchens of Third Base's Roc City Bar & Grill by posting photos that ... were taken while Pennuto was employed by Third Base as a certified food protection manager. Her job included keeping the kitchens in a clean and sanitary condition. Defendant posted that the owners of Roc City Bar & Grill were engaged in illegal activities, i.e., stealing from the employees," the lawsuit asserted.

That particular message Pennuto wrote, according to the defamation lawsuit, stated, "I worked for roc city for 3 years now and they didn't claim me as one of their employees to the IRS and now I haven't gotten my taxes in over 2 years now!!!! ... Don't let this company fool you. Their frauds and they steal from their employees."

According to the lawsuit, "Pennuto falsely made those statements knowing that she had previously received W-2s from Third Base showing her as an employee in all tax years."

As for the defamation count, Roc City Bar's lawyer explained that "defendant Pennuto maliciously made false statements regarding plaintiffs that she published on Facebook. Such posts are defamation per se as asserting criminal conduct by plaintiffs and the inability to competently perform their vocation. Defendant Pennuto intended to portray Third Base's Roc City Bar & Grill as being unsanitary and in violation of local sanitation and health laws governing prepared food establishments.

"She suggested that cockroaches were present in the kitchen to persuade consumers not to eat at Roc City Bar & Grill. Defendant Pennuto specifically identified plaintiffs in her posts. Defendant Pennuto called on others to republish and amplify the content of the posts to portray the restaurant as incompetent at preparing food, and substandard with sanitation issues, so that normally prudent people would not frequent the establishment."

Page five of the six-page lawsuit goes on to declare how "defendant Pennuto made a false report to the Will County Health Department in an attempt to have Third Bases' restaurant shut down. the actions of defendant ... constitute defamation libel per se under Illinois law."

The lawsuit further alleges that "damages alone will not deter defendant from the immediate future defamation of the plaintiffs. Instead, it is clearly foreseeable that without an order enjoining Pennuto, she will increase the volume and tone of her defamatory posts. Plaintiffs have been injured by defendant's actions by harm to their reputation and downturn in business generated from Third Base's Roc City Bar & Grill."

In addition to the defamation, Roc City filed a second count, for nonpayment of loan. That section indicates, "plaintiff made short term 'bridge' loans to Pennuto to 'bridge' her over until Pennuto received her tax refund from the IRS. Pennuto has never paid back these loans despite her promise to do so. The amount of the outstanding loans total $1,500."

The attorney from Maple Park has Will County's judges to impose a monetary judgment against Pennuto for more than $50,000.