Opinion ID: 1909036
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The DHRC Proceeding And Decision

Text: Approximately two months later, in late September 2002, Thompson filed a complaint with the DHRC alleging that Dover Downs had discriminated against him because of his disability, in violation of Section 4504 of the Delaware Equal Accommodations Law (DEAL). [5] Section 4504, on which Thompson based his claim of discrimination, states: No person being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any place of public accommodation, shall directly or indirectly refuse, withhold from or deny to any person, on account of race, age, marital status, creed, color, sex, handicap or national origin, any of the accommodations, facilities, advantages or privileges thereof. For the purpose of training support animals to be used by the handicapped, all trainers and their support animals shall be included within those covered by this subsection. [6] Because the Delaware statute is substantially the same as Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the ADA) both the DHRC and the Superior Court relied on principles of federal law as the interpretative framework and guide for interpreting the counterpart Delaware statute. The three-pronged test for discrimination under Title III of the ADA, as first articulated in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, [7] requires that: (1) the plaintiff must establish a prima facie case of discrimination; (2) once the prima facie case is established, the burden shifts to the defendant to produce evidence of a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for denying plaintiff access; and (3) if the defendant meets that burden, the plaintiff must carry the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant's proffered reason was a pretext for discrimination. [8] Applying this test in performing its analysis, the DHRC Panel determined, in a Decision and Order issued on December 11, 2003, that Dover Downs was a place of public accommodation; that Thompson was a handicapped person within the meaning of the statute; that Thompson's dog was a support animal within the meaning of the statute; that Thompson had made out a prima facie case of discrimination by showing that he was denied access to a place of public accommodation when members of the general public were not denied access; and that Dover Downs had failed to show a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for denying Thompson access. [9] More specifically, the Panel concluded that: (1) Thompson had made out a prima facie case of discrimination by establishing that he was a handicapped person who was denied access to the casino with his support animal; and (2) the non-discriminatory reason advanced by Dover Downs for denying access was that its employees doubted that the animal was a support animal because of the dog's young age, the nylon cord affixing the support vest, and Thompson's refusal to answer questions about the dog's training. The Panel found further: that (3) Dover Downs' reasons for denying Thompson's dog access were unworthy of credence; that (4) Thompson's access to the casino had already been denied by the time the supervisors asked questions concerning the dog's training; and that (5) the Panel does not believe that Thompson's answers to oral questions [by Dover Downs' security officers] would have gained him entrance into the facility. [10]