Judge dismisses lawsuit accusing Power & Light District of racial discrimination
A Jackson County judge has thrown out a lawsuit that alleged a pattern of discrimination at the Kansas City Power & Light District.
Glen Cusimano accused the Cordish Cos., the developer of the district, and related entities of hiring whites to pick fights with blacks as a pretext to expel African-Americans from bars in the downtown entertainment area. Cusimano said he was a victim of that tactic when he was fired in September 2013 as manager of the Mosaic lounge.
Lawyers for Cordish countered that Cusimano was fired for hitting a patron who was handcuffed.
In her ruling, Jackson County Circuit Judge Joel P. Fahnestock found that Cusimano, who is black, failed to prove that he was a victim of discrimination, as well as his other claims.
A related federal class-action lawsuit filed by Cusimano’s attorney, Linda Dickens, was tossed out in 2015.
Shortly after opening in 2008, the the Power & Light District was accused of enforcing a dress code that some said was intended to exclude black customers. Baltimore-based Cordish denied those allegations but modified its dress code and in 2010 settled a complaint filed by the Kansas City Human Relations Department.
Mike Hendricks: 816-234-4738, @kcmikehendricks
This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Judge dismisses lawsuit accusing Power & Light District of racial discrimination."