The Choice Series: Thomas Hoskamer

Tom Hoskamer is the bumbling, drug addicted owner of Choice Gentlemen’s Club. Googling his name will return a comedic amount of mugshots and arrest reports that he has acquired over the years. Tom is not a smart or tactful man, and barely functions in life. The club would probably not exist without help from his elderly mother and trusted staff.

Tom was called to the witness stand at the early 2018 trial, with a new jury who was unaware of his sexually harassing behavior in relation to giving certain dancers special privileges. Judge Klein forbade us from talking about that. Judge Klein forbade me from talking about the time Tom Hoskamer caressed my thigh and told me to wear shorter dresses to work. Judge Klein forbade me from talking about the dancers whose buttocks Tom squeezes when they hug him. Judge Klein also forbade me from talking about how Tom instructed his managers not to hire any more black women, and when one black employee confronted him about it, he replied, “Who the fuck are you, Malcolm X?”

Tom admitted to misclassifying, while on the witness stand being cross-examined. I did not see his testimony as a threat to my case whatsoever, and was floored that he won. In his deposition, he admitted to a host of behaviors that were compliant with the definition of misclassification. Tom’s is the type of win that is only possible with the help of bigoted jurors who hate sex workers, who do not understand labor law, and who wish to punish women who dance. To this day, I am still amazed by it all.

The only redeeming fact in this whole debacle is that he spent $65,000 defending himself, in a case where I was suing him for less than $15,000. I would have settled for less if it meant not going to court, especially after the mistrial. But, Tom didn’t want to do that. His lawyer charged him $65,000, while my lawyer gave me a contingency agreement. Tom was expecting me to pay back some of that $65,000, but the judge ruled against that. For any other strippers out there who want to sue their clubs— it is highly unlikely that plaintiffs have to pay for a defendant’s legal fees. Kooky Tom Hoskamer was operating under the assumption that I would have to pay his legal bills if he won.

Here is his deposition and here is the breakdown of costs that his lawyer charged him. Tom’s Attorney, Mark Ohnstad, came out on top of everyone in this matter, fiscally speaking.