Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc.

Did You Know?

• Piggie Park Enterprises was a drive-in BBQ chain with four restaurants, created and operated by Maurice Bessinger, the Baptist head of the National Association for the Preservation of White People.
• The lawsuit was filed by lawyer Matthew J. Perry after Bessinger refused to allow Anne Newman, an African-American minister's wife, into his restaurant.
• The language of the decision has been said to form a cornerstone for the text of the 1967 Attorney's Fees Act.

Procedural history

Perry's lawsuit was first heard in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina with Charles Earl Simons, Jr. presiding. The plaintiffs argued that Piggie Park's exclusion of African-Americans violated Title II. The defendant, Bessinger, denied the discrimination, denied that the restaurants were public accommodations under the Act, and argued that the Civil Rights Act violated his freedom of religion. Simons held the Act did not apply to drive-in restaurants but applied to Bessinger's sandwich shop. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit reversed, finding discrimination prohibited at both drive-in and eat-in establishments, and remanded with instructions to award counsel fees only to the extent defenses were advanced for purposes of delay. The Supreme Court granted certiorari on the question of the good-faith defense exclusion.