PHILADELPHIA – A Baltimore man has brought class action litigation against SeaWorld and Sesame Place Philadelphia, charging that employees of the Sesame Street-themed park discriminated against his daughter, a Black child, during a meet-and-greet session with some of the park’s costumed characters.
Quinton Burns (individually and as next friend of K.B., a minor, and on behalf of a class of similarly situated individuals) of Baltimore, Md. filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on July 27 versus SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc. and SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, LLC (doing business as “Sesame Place Philadelphia”) of Orlando, Fla., plus John Does 1-4.
“On June 18, 2022, Father’s Day, the Burns accepted SeaWorld’s offer to purchase two weekend admission tickets to SeaWorld’s amusement park, Sesame Place Philadelphia. The Burns performed their contractual duties by tendering remuneration in a bargained for exchange to experience SeaWorld’s Sesame Place Philadelphia attraction. SeaWorld’s offer which the Burns accepted included, the benefit and privilege of enjoyment of the amusement rides and ‘exclusive Sesame Street themed entertainment’ offered at Sesame Place, including but not limited to amusement park shows featuring ‘Meet and Greets’ with Sesame Street-themed costume character performers,” the suit says.
“By the terms of the contract between the Burns and SeaWorld, SeaWorld’s costume character performers were obligated to ‘Meet and Greet’ with SeaWorld’s customers to include Burns. Similarly, the Burns was entitled to SeaWorld’s performance of the contract by way of its costume character performers to ‘Meet and Greet’ with the Burns. During the Burns’ visit to Sesame Place, they attempted to participate in a ‘Meet and Greet’ with SeaWorld’s costume character performers dressed as Sesame Street characters ‘Elmo’, ‘Ernie’, ‘Telly Monster’ & ‘Abby Cadabby.’ SeaWorld’s costume character performers dressed as Sesame Street characters ‘Elmo’, ‘Ernie’, ‘Telly Monster’ & ‘Abby Cadabby’ intentionally refused to perform SeaWorld’s contract with the Burns and the Class by refusing to engage with them and ignoring them and all other Black guests in attendance.”
The suit maintains that the class of the lawsuit would include any Black guest of Sesame Place Philadelphia over the past four years who suffered disparate or discriminatory treatment by employees of the park.
A spokesperson for Sesame Place issued a statement in response to the lawsuit.
“We will review the lawsuit filed on behalf of Mr. Burns. We look forward to addressing that claim through the established legal process. We are committed to deliver an inclusive, equitable and entertaining experience for all our guests,” the statement said.
For counts of discrimination in violation of 42 U.S.C. Section 1981 plus state law claims of negligence and breach of contract, the plaintiffs are seeking a long list of various reliefs, including $25 million in damages, an unconditional apology for the conduct complained of, an injunction preventing the continuation of such conduct, discrimination education and sensitivity training for Sesame Place employees, attorney’s fees, costs, pre- and post-judgment interest and other relief as may be appropriate under the circumstances.
The plaintiffs are represented by Martell Harris of The Trial Law Firm in Pittsburgh, Jason Duncan of Duncan Legal Group in Harrisburg, plus William H. Murphy Jr. Andrew K. O’Connell, Malcolm P. Ruff and Ronald E. Richardson of Murphy Falcon & Murphy, in Baltimore, Md.
The defendants have not yet retained legal counsel.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:22-cv-02941
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com