HOUSTON – Three black men announced Friday they are filing a federal lawsuit against the Midtown bar Gaslamp for discrimination.
Brandon Ball, Dan Scarbrough and Ken Pigee are seeking damages after they say they were asked to pay cover, because they did not have any girls with them.
"There's been a lot of distractions out there in the media regarding this. Prop 1 is in place to protect people like me, Dan and Ken, right now as you heard, we have to file a federal lawsuit," said Brandon Ball.
Ball's attorney, Brian Tagtmeier said,: "For these young gentlemen, I'm limited with what I can get, but I'm definitely seeking monetary damages, and I'm going to make these people pay for what they did, because it was wrong. It is wrong, and they are continuing to do it, and that is what we can not forget."
At the end of the press conference, the men said they want Gaslamp to issue a formal apology.
The bar's attorney, Tim Sutherland, said that is not going to happen.
"We are not going to do that," Sutherland said. "No. 1 because we still maintain that we did nothing wrong. As for the timing of this, I feel it is very opportunistic given that there is a vote on the HERO ordinance, and apparently, they've aligned themselves with that cause."
The lawsuit is expected to be filed next week. It's unclear exactly how much money the attorney will be suing for.