NEW ORLEANS – An African-American female and a nonprofit alleged several French Quarter restaurants engage in discriminatory behavior.
Mary Webb and Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center filed a complaint on Nov. 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against the Dickie Brennan and Co. LLC, Seven Sixteen Iberville LLC, Brasserie LLC, Richard Brennan Jr., Steven Pettus and Lauren Brennan Brower alleging that they violated the Civil Rights Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that the defendants close their restaurants during Bayou Classic weekend because of the African-American racial composition of the event's attendees. The plaintiffs holds Dickie Brennan and Co. LLC, Seven Sixteen Iberville LLC, Brasserie LLC, Richard Brennan Jr., Steven Pettus and Lauren Brennan Brower responsible because the defendants' alleged actions denied them the full enjoyment of the goods, services and accommodations of the defendants.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek permanent injunction barring defendants from engaging in illegal discriminatory conduct, award for compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and costs and all other relief deemed just. They are represented by Alexander Sascha Bollag and Elizabeth Owen of Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center in New Orleans and Reed N. Colfax, Tara K. Ramchandani and Yiyang Wu of Relman, Dane & Colfax PLLC in Washington, D.C.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:16-cv-16548