When La Shawn Butler took her daughter and nearly two dozen loved ones to Lula Restaurant Distillery in New Orleans in May, all she wanted to do was celebrate her daughter’s high school graduation. Instead, Butler claims the police were called because her daughter, who graduated with honors, wore attire that was deemed inappropriate. Now the New Orleans mother is suing the establishment for emotional distress.
The New Orleans reports Butler is accusing the establishment of intentionally inflicting emotional distress on her and her 17-year-old daughter Sanai Butler by attempting to “weaponize” the New Orleans Police Department because the restaurant’s co-owners did not approve of her daughter’s outfit. The recent high school graduate reportedly wore a bikini top and matching leggings along with her graduation stole. She also wore a jacket majority of the night but took it off to take photos.
In court documents filed in Orleans Parish Civil District Court on July 1, and obtained by the publication, the lawsuit states that “The conduct of the owners of Lula was extreme, outrageous and intentional. As such, they are liable for the emotional distress they caused (the Butlers) to suffer.” The defendants are listed as Terrell “Bear” Caffery, Jess Michael Bourgeois, and Erin Bourgeois, identified as the co-owner and allegedly the person who objected to the outfit. The restaurant was also named as a defendant.
The lawsuit claims that Bourgeois followed the teenager into a restroom and asked if she could change her attire because what she was wearing was “very inappropriate.” Butler and two other family members approached the co-owner, saying, “If you had something to say about her outfit, you could have approached me as her mother.” The group then engaged in a back and forth so intense that police ultimately were called.
The outlet also reported that the eatery did not have a dress code posted on its website or inside the establishment. Butler claims that several guests who were on their way from a sporting event called ahead of time and were supposedly told to “come as you are.”
No arrests were made that day. However, Butler, who is represented by New Orleans-based Bagneris Law Firm, said because of the embarrassment and discrimination her daughter had to endure, she has since been seeing a clinical psychologist. She believes the restaurant’s actions were racially motivated.
In a statement to the Advocate, the restaurant’s management said it only called the police to ensure the customers’ safety during “a verbal altercation” involving “three disruptive, adult patrons.” They later issued an apology to “any person who (felt) that Lula discriminated against them based on their attire or race.”
A newly-hired employee who wished to remain anonymous told Nola.com that Butler’s version of the story was accurate and the treatment of the all Black party caused her to quit soon after. She also noted that the cops themselves seemed perturbed that they were called for such a reason.
“It didn’t have to get to that point,” the employee said.
Sanai will be attending Talladega College this fall after being offered enrollment at over a dozen universities.
