Professional comedian and media entrepreneur, Byron Allen, filed suit against Comcast Corporation (a telecommunications conglomerate) for not picking up his channel -- the Entertainment Studios Network (ESN).
While Allen claimed racial discrimination, the company cited “lack of programming demand, bandwidth constraints, and a preference for programming not offered by ESN.”
The United States Supreme Court ultimately sided with Comcast in a unanimous decision, ruling that in order to win the case, “a plaintiff must initially plead and ultimately prove that, but for race, it would not have suffered the loss of a legally protected right.”
The lawsuit will go back to lower court, where Mr. Allen can still try to prove his case. Although his attempt to sue Comcast was initially unsuccessful, the reinstated lawsuit is expected to significantly impact the future of racial discrimination cases.
Commenting on the ruling, Randolph M. McLaughlin, Co-Chair of the Civil Rights Practice Group at Newman Ferrara LLP, said, “ While this ruling is a setback for civil rights plaintiffs, the ruling did not establish new law. The Court merely reaffirmed its prior precedent that under the 19th Century Civil Rights Laws, a plaintiff must prove intentional discrimination.”
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If you believe you are the victim of discrimination, please do not hesitate to call one of our civil rights attorneys at 212-619-5400.
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To read the full report on Deadline, click here: https://deadline.com/2020/03/byron-allen-comcast-supreme-court-2-1202873141/