Traveller sues pub for race discrimination arising from refusal to serve

12th July 2017

Joseph England appeared last week in an interesting case under the Equality Act 2010 heard in the County Court in which a traveller was seeking an injunction and damages from a pub and its landlady after he was refused service. Relying on his race as a traveller, the Claimant alleges that he was refused service because of his race and that this was an act of harassment, whereas the Defendants contend that their belief was that he had been involved in a mass brawl the year before with approximately 20 others. Joseph represented the landlady and judgment is awaited.

The Claimant relied upon the jurisdiction of the County Court under s.114 EA 2010 and the joint liability of both the pub and landlady under s.109. In contrast to the provisions within the Employment Tribunal, the time limit under s.118 for a claim within the County Court is 6 months with a potential ‘just and equitable’ extension, but the issue of jurisdiction remains to be determined and is dependent partly on whether, if the claim succeeds, there was a one off or continuing act.

Joseph’s practice across both Employment and Commercial law means he was well placed to argue the principles of the Equality Act within the regime of the CPR. His profile can be found here.Joseph EnglandCall: 2011

Media coverage of the story can be found here.