Black Man Can Sue Bar Where He Suffered Racist Attack From Customer, M.I. Court Rules
Edward James Tyson, a Black man, can sue a northern Michigan bar where he suffered a racist attack resulting in brain damage, the Michigan Court of Appeals said in an opinion issued on Friday.
Back in 2015, Tyson was repeatedly punched and assaulted by David Clarence Dawkins as the assailant used the "N" word multiple times. The incident took place when Tyson came to B.S. & Co., a bar in Wolverine that was operated by Unthank LLC. The assault initially left Tyson unconscious and he suffered brain damage. Although Dawkins was convicted of aggravated assault, Tyson wanted to sue the bar as the staff failed to call the police to intervene. Detroit Free Press first reported the court's decision.
"At that moment, a reasonable person would recognize a risk of imminent harm to plaintiff," the three-judge panel on the Michigan Court of Appeals wrote in their opinion. "And the need to expedite the involvement of the police was further enhanced by the racial overtones known by all and shared by several patrons." The decision overruled the decision of a Cheboygan County Circuit Court who had dismissed Tyson's lawsuit against the bar.
Tyson was assaulted twice that day in front of the bar by Dawkins, who was reportedly known to routinely use the "N" word and racist language. When Tyson arrived at the establishment, Dawkins was outside and punched him, calling him the "N" word. This left Tyson unconscious.
Dawkins later came outside again, when Tyson told him to stop using the "N" word. Instead of heeding Tyson's concerns, Dawkins assaulted him a second time and repeated the racist epithet. Although the bar staff was made aware of what was happening, they did not call the police.
"A jury might also conclude that had Dawkins learned that the police were called after the first assault, he would not have felt emboldened to engage in the second assault," the appeals court said in its opinion.
The bar attempted to argue that it was not responsible for the incident, as it occurred outside of its premises. But the court dismissed this argument, pointing out that customers routinely congregated outside to talk.
"A reasonable jury could conclude that because defendant's bar patrons congregated out front on the sidewalk on bike nights and flowed in and out of the bar on a regular basis while temporarily leaving their drinks at the bar, the area around the front entrance was effectively defendant's premises," the judges wrote.
Newsweek reached out to B.S. & Co. via its Facebook page for comment on the court's opinion but did not immediately receive a response.
The court's decision came as Americans continue to grapple with issues of racism throughout society. Black Lives Matter and anti-racism demonstrations spread across the country in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by former Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin. The white police officer was convicted on Tuesday by a grand jury for murdering Floyd.
The FBI's 2019 hate crimes report, which was released in November, showed the highest number recorded in a decade. Overall hate crimes rose by 3 percent, but violent incidents and killings rose, resulting in a record-breaking 51 fatal attacks. The report also marked the third consecutive year with more than 7,000 hate crimes reported.
