Debt card fraud

Unless the restaurant was somehow negligent in protecting your information (for example, if it hired the clerk and put him in a position to receive debit and credit card information, even though it had reason to know he couldn't be trusted, or if it failed to take reasonable precautions against identity theft by its employees) it probably would not be liable for the employee's theft.  Employers are normally responsible for their employees' conduct in the scope of their employment.  For example, if a pizza delivery guy has an accident while delivering pizza, his employer may be liable.  The law may be more liberal in your jurisdiction, but it doesn't sound to me like this clerk was acting in the scope of his employment when he deliberately stole your information.  If you think you may have a claim, there are a number of ways you can proceed.  You can write to therestaurant, present your claim, and seek whatever compensation you think appropriate.  It is possible that they will accomodate you in some way, even if they don't think they are legally responsible, in the hopes of avoiding bad publicity.  If they turn you down, and you still want to pursue it,  you can consult an attorney who can help you.  Or you can go to an attorney first, but an attorney will cost money, if not up front, than the attorney will take a share of anything you get.   I have a question though - I realize that you were tremendously inconvenienced, but what did you actually lose?  You should not be responsible to pay for anything this guy acquired by forging your signature (assuming you acted promptly to question the charges and cancel the card when you found out about the problem).