Lawyers for men who say they were discriminated against at Gaslamp file federal suit

Brandon Ball told the Houston Chronicle that the federal lawsuit, brought under Title 2 of the Civil Rights Act, will hold the bar accountable for their actions. “You can’t do this. It’s 2015,” he said. Brandon Ball told the Houston Chronicle that the federal lawsuit, brought under Title 2 of the Civil Rights Act, will hold the bar accountable for their actions. “You can’t do this. It’s 2015,” he said. Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close Lawyers for men who say they were discriminated against at Gaslamp file federal suit 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

On Thursday the legal team for the men who say they were refused entry into a Midtown bar and dance club filed a federal suit against its owner, Ayman Jarrah, and his management group Texas Guardian Incorporated.

It's been a little more than month since three black attorneys said they were stopped at the door of Gaslamp off Brazos and asked to pay a cover, as white patrons walked into the bar free of charge.

Brandon Ball, Dan Scarbrough and Ken Piggee — all attorneys — said when they got to the doors of Gaslamp the doormen said they had to pay $20 to enter. According to the men, the popular Midtown bar charged cover charges only to non-white patrons and turned other minorities away under the guise of "dress code violations."

RELATED: Lawsuit planned amid Gaslamp racial allegations

Since the accusations were made public, other customers also have claimed Gaslamp has discriminatory practices. The nightclub has denied the charges, saying they deny patrons entry based on dress or male-to-female ratios inside the bar.

One of attorneys for the trio, Brian Tagtmeier, laid out his reasoning for the federal suit in front of the Houston media on the morning of Oct. 23, just steps from the front door of the Midtown hotspot.

He plans on seeking monetary damages in the case for his clients. Beyond that he also wants an apology.

“We want justice, we want things to change, and we want a public apology like the viral video that these guys (Gaslamp) put out,” Tagtmeier said.

Two viral videos released after the incident were widely shared and maligned by opponents of the bar. Some say the video did little to garner sympathy for the bar, while others applauded their straightforward message of business owner empowerment.

“I am blessed I have clients that I believe in,” he said. “I do not condone this. I have friends of all races, ethnicities, origins, disabilities, and gender identity. These issues are important.”

Adriana Piñon, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Texas, sent out a press release around the same time of the press conference.

“These guys were literally left with no option but to make a costly federal case out of what happened to them at the Gaslamp,” Piñon wrote. “Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance provides a free, local tool to deal with discrimination claims like these, not to mention the new allegations the same nightclub discriminated against Latina women. When you take a step back, Proposition 1 is about treating all Houstonians, no matter their race or gender, fairly and equally under the law.”

Brandon Ball has told the Houston Chronicle that the federal lawsuit, brought under Title 2 of the Civil Rights Act, will hold the bar accountable for their actions.

“You can’t do this. It’s 2015,” he said.

RELATED: Black customers accuse Houston's Gaslamp bar of discriminatory cover charge; bar says 'no'

According to the city’s Inspector General some 56 percent of discrimination claims within Houston in the past year have been based on race. Ball says that that percentage is way too high.

He says that the distractions around the HERO ordinance – the commercials and the like for and against it – are clouding the real need for it. The ordinance will cover discrimination like this, he says.

The fate of that ordinance will be known next week after Houston's elections.

“In the soon-to-be third-largest city in the United States we should be able to hold these people accountable,” Ball says.

He said that many people have reached out to him since his incident telling him stories about other bars, not just Gaslamp, that they feel have discriminated against them.

When asked if he would have done anything differently the night of the incident, Ball says that he would have talked to more people at the club that night to document their own experiences.

Members of Houston Unites were also in attendance at last week's press conference. They say that the men’s case underlines the need for Houston’s controversial Equal Rights Ordinance, which goes up for vote in the November elections.

They are hoping that the Ball, Scarbrough, and Piggee’s experience will highlight on a personal level just what HERO will help remedy.

Gaslamp’s lawyer, Tim Sutherland, said he wasn’t made aware of the press conference but did show up minutes after it was over to comment on the new developments. He starred in the viral Gaslamp response videos.

“I haven’t seen it (the suit) and I am a little surprised that it’s come about just now, at this time, right before the vote on the HERO ordinance. I think that is very opportunistic on their side,” Sutherland said. He said that his client is aware of the lawsuit.

“I don’t think the HERO ordinance is a solution for something like this. It’s extremely broad,” Sutherland said. He added that the ordinance provides an uncertainty for businesses who could find it hard to decipher.

What’s changed at the bar since the Sept. 11 incident?

“We have a new door staff out front who are handling our entry policies and enforcing the dress codes,” Sutherland said. “We’ve always had a policy that didn’t take into account race but these guys brought this allegation and you can’t just ignore the allegation.”

“If people think we are discriminating on account of race then it’s our responsibility as a business to make sure nothing like that is happening at all,” Sutherland added.

He said that the bar doesn’t plan on apologizing to the men because he maintains the bar didn’t do anything wrong.

Charles Adams, a law partner of Ball’s, was at the press conference for support of his friend and colleague. He thinks that what happened is unacceptable.

“We can’t be a leader for both this nation and this world as a municipality if we tolerate this kind of behavior directed at any group,” Adams said.

Adams said that Ball and his friends are not out for money from Gaslamp.

“We have a pretty successful law practice. His goal is justice and what’s right,” he said.

A protest has been planned for Friday night at 9 p.m. just outside the bar in the hopes of shining a light on Gaslamp's actions during one of the busiest drinking weekends of the year.