banned from business - should i sue for discrimination?

[politecitizen]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Wisconsin

Hi all,

I wanted to share an unfortunate experience that I had, and how I might be able to get help. I was at a McDonald's, when suddenly, an employee noticed that I was making an unusual gesture. Unfortunately, I was not aware of it because I have a disability known as Tourette's syndrome that causes me to make sudden, unusual motions which I have no control over. However, the employee who noticed what I did called the police, and I was arrested for my action. I was told by the person who owns the McDonald's I was in that day that I would never be allowed to go to any of the McDonald's that this person owned. This person owns about 60 McDonald's, so there a lot of locations that I have to remember to avoid. At my initial hearing, I was charged with disorderly conduct for my action. I immediately hired a lawyer, and I also mentioned this to my psychiatrist. I explained the situation to them, and told them that I was not making any inappropriate motions. This information was passed along to the District Attorney that was handling my case. The DA believed the evidence that I didn't do anything wrong, and told me that if I received behavioral lessons from my psychiatrist, he would drop the charge. I followed the DA's advice, and the charge was eventually dropped. Then, I called the owner of this McDonald's again to let him know that my charge was dropped, and asked him if he would lift my ban. However, he did not. I asked him if there was anything I could do to get it lifted, and he said no. Therefore, the only thing that I could possibly do to have this ban lifted is to fie a lawsuit. I think I have a strong case because my disability led to my action, and if I was banned because of my action, that means that I might have been banned because of my disability, since that led to the inappropriate motion. If this is true, then I might win my case because it is illegal under the ADA to ban somebody from their property because of a disability. Should I file suit against the owner of this McDonald's?

Thank you.

 

[TigerD]

Did your employer know you are afflicted with Tourettes?

TD

 

[Ohiogal]

Did your employer know you are afflicted with Tourettes?

TD

It wasn't his employer. It was a private business owner of a McDonald's.

 

[politecitizen]

Did your employer know you are afflicted with Tourettes?

TD

I am currently unemployed.

 

[Paul84]

For what damages exactly would you sue--that you're not allowed to eat crappy fast food? If defending yourself against the DA cost something, that might be worth suing for in small claims court, but otherwise, I'd say it's best to move on ... to another restaurant. You could also go to the local press and get them to write up the facts of the incident--that alone would damage the local McD's enough to serve them their "just desserts" (since theirs--based on the likely ingredients--don't really qualify as food per se).

 

[quincy]

For what damages exactly would you sue--that you're not allowed to eat crappy fast food? If defending yourself against the DA cost something, that might be worth suing for in small claims court, but otherwise, I'd say it's best to move on ... to another restaurant. You could also go to the local press and get them to write up the facts of the incident--that alone would damage the local McD's enough to serve them their "just desserts" (since theirs--based on the likely ingredients--don't really qualify as food per se).

Hey! When I am at work late at night, McDonald's is what I survive on. Don't go dissing their desserts.

The local press is not a bad idea, by the way, and contacting McDonald's corporate headquarters could be another action to take as well. Both suggestions are far cheaper than a lawsuit, and they are bound to lead to a faster resolution and perhaps have a greater impact (not to mention the likelihood of free coupons that would not come with an award of damages in a lawsuit).

It is vital for politecitizen to make the McDonald's owner aware FIRST that his disability is a real one and that the charges against him were dismissed by the District Attorney for that reason. Simply telling the owner that charges were dismissed is not enough as charges can be dismissed for a whole assortment of reasons.

politecitizen, I suggest you write to the owner (a real letter, not an email) and inform the owner of the DA's decision, and request that the ban be lifted. I would add a cc. to the DA. Send your letter certified mail, return receipt requested. Keep a copy of the letter for yourself. Give the owner time to respond before taking any other action.

Good luck.

 

[politecitizen]

I should clarify that this happened as I was walking outside next to the restaurant. I was going to go in to grab a bite before I was stopped outside by a McDonald's employee. I have visited this location frequently for meals until this incident.

 

[quincy]

I should clarify that this happened as I was walking outside next to the restaurant. I was going to go in to grab a bite before I was stopped outside by a McDonald's employee. I have visited this location frequently for meals until this incident.

It appears then that the employee is the reason for your banning by the owner. The owner was probably basing the ban on what his employee told him happened.

I would contact the owner as advised earlier. Is there anything else that you have left out of your story?

 

[politecitizen]

It appears then that the employee is the reason for your banning by the owner. The owner was probably basing the ban on what his employee told him happened.

I would contact the owner as advised earlier. Is there anything else that you have left out of your story?

After the charge was dropped, I called the owner to inform him about it, and asked him if he would be willing to lift the ban. However, he did not. He told me that there was nothing I could do to try to get it lifted, but then I told him about my disability, and how it caused my action that day, but he still kept my ban in place. Since the local franchise that owns the McDonald's that I am banned from has a dropbox on their website to send e-mails to the owner, I sent a couple with details as to why they should lift my ban. I listed my e-mail and phone number in these e-mails, hoping I would get a response from McDonald's. However, this did not work, and one day, I got a phone call from the local police department. The owner of these McDonald's was apparently fed up with my e-mails that I sent, so he told the police to call me, since my number was in the e-mails I sent McDonald's. Luckily, this was just a verbal warning from the police to stop e-mailing McDonald's, and I did not get in trouble. However, the police told me that if I e-mailed or called the owner of the McDonald's locations that I am banned from again, I would be arrested and charged with harassment. Therefore, I have not e-mailed or called the owner of these McDonald's since, and I will not do so ever again. This is why I am thinking about civil action against them, since my complaint would be filed in court, and then handled with McDonald's, as opposed to me simply contacting them. With legal action, the local court will contact McDonald's instead of me, so I would not get in trouble.

 

[TigerD]

It wasn't his employer. It was a private business owner of a McDonald's.

I misread that.

TD

 

[Zigner]

I think there's more to the story than the OP is letting on.

 

[quincy]

After the charge was dropped, I called the owner to inform him about it, and asked him if he would be willing to lift the ban. However, he did not. He told me that there was nothing I could do to try to get it lifted, but then I told him about my disability, and how it caused my action that day, but he still kept my ban in place. Since the local franchise that owns the McDonald's that I am banned from has a dropbox on their website to send e-mails to the owner, I sent a couple with details as to why they should lift my ban. I listed my e-mail and phone number in these e-mails, hoping I would get a response from McDonald's. However, this did not work, and one day, I got a phone call from the local police department. The owner of these McDonald's was apparently fed up with my e-mails that I sent, so he told the police to call me, since my number was in the e-mails I sent McDonald's. Luckily, this was just a verbal warning from the police to stop e-mailing McDonald's, and I did not get in trouble. However, the police told me that if I e-mailed or called the owner of the McDonald's locations that I am banned from again, I would be arrested and charged with harassment. Therefore, I have not e-mailed or called the owner of these McDonald's since, and I will not do so ever again. This is why I am thinking about civil action against them, since my complaint would be filed in court, and then handled with McDonald's, as opposed to me simply contacting them. With legal action, the local court will contact McDonald's instead of me, so I would not get in trouble.

Although I think lawsuits should always be last resorts, it appears that you might have a legal action that is at least worth exploring with an attorney in your area. Discrimination lawsuits filed by Tourette sufferers in the past have been a bit of a mixed bag.

I think you might find a better solution to the problem through other means. You might find additional means not already mentioned here through the Tourette's Association of America: http://www.tsa-usa.org/

Finally, I agree with the police that bombarding the owner of the McDonald's with emails could be viewed as harassment. Instead, you will want to contact McDonald's Corporate Headquarters with your story (and you should make it the complete story that includes supportable facts). Again, I would contact McDonald's by formal letter and not an email.

Here is both a link to the McDonald's Corporate website and the Headquarter's address:

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/contact_us.html

McDonald's Corporation
2111 McDonald's Drive
Oak Brook, Illinois 60523

Good luck.

 

[Eekamouse]

I have to ask, what was the gesture you were making?

 

[RRevak]

I think there's more to the story than the OP is letting on.

I agree. What TS motions could possibly get someone banned from an entire set of McDonalds?

 

[quincy]

I agree. What TS motions could possibly get someone banned from an entire set of McDonalds?

Here is a link to the same site I provided earlier (Tourette's Association of America) that describes some of possible manifestations of the disorder: http://www.tsa-usa.org/Medical/whatists.html

Obscene gestures are possible.

The entire set of McDonald's are apparently owned by the same person, which makes it slightly more reasonable to think the banning could be from all of the McDonald's in the area.