Three Houston men accuse have pursued legal action on allegations a Houston nightspot imposed a cover charge on non-white guests including themselves.
In a lawsuit filed Oct. 29 against Texas Guardian Inc. and company president Ayman Jarrah in Houston federal court, plaintiffs Brandon Ball, Danval Scarbrough and Kennard Piggee assert they went to Gaslamp in Midtown Houston the night of Sept. 11 and were informed by security personnel that they would pay a $20 cover to go to the bar. The men reportedly declined to pay the admittance fee.
As they were returning to their vehicles, the suit says, the complainants, who are black, noticed that the business’s white patrons were allowed to enter without paying the charge in question.
“In so doing, the defendants were refusing to do business with non-white customers, African Americans, Asians and Hispanic patrons because of their race,” the original petition says. “Ball, Scarbrough and Piggee were deeply offended by this racist and discriminatory treatment.”
The defendants are additionally accused of segregation in a public place of accommodation, denial of equal rights under the law and negligent supervision and training.
Consequently, the plaintiffs seek unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
They are represented by attorneys Brian Tagtmeier of the Law Offices of Brian Tagtmeier in Houston, Ike Okorafor of the law firm Okorafor Law Group in Houston and DaSean Jones of the law firm Jones & Associates in Houston.
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas Case No. 4:15-CV-3181