ST. LOUIS – Dashtaki Law Firm, LLC has filed a major disability discrimination lawsuit against corporate giants Wyndham Hotel Management, Inc., Super 8 Worldwide, Inc., Saraj Development, LLC (d/b/a Super 8 by Wyndham St. Louis Airport), and Sasak Place, LLC, alleging egregious violations of the Missouri Human Rights Act. The petition claims the Defendants callously denied an athlete his confirmed room, flatly refused his service animal, and subjected him to an agonizing public degradation.
The athlete, a paraplegic and incomplete quadriplegic, arrived at the Super 8 by Wyndham St. Louis Airport on April 11, 2023 to play in the 2023 Disabled Hockey Festival at the Centene Community Ice Center. Despite Wyndham and Super 8 representing on the hotel’s website that their staff was “trained in service to guests with disabilities”, a hotel employee denied him access to the hotel, stating, “We don’t have a room for you with a dog!”. Even when presented with proof of the reservation and the dog’s visible purple “service dog” vest, the employee refused access to the paralyzed guest.
According to the lawsuit, this discriminatory refusal quickly escalated into a devastating physical ordeal. Because the athlete lives with a loss of bowel and bladder control caused by his paralysis, the hotel’s refusal to grant him access to his room or the hotel’s restrooms forced him to endure the ultimate indignity of soiling his own clothing in the lobby.
Furthermore, after reporting the appalling treatment to Wyndham and Super 8 corporate, the company promised an investigation but ultimately did absolutely nothing to rectify the situation or even enforce their own policies.
Plaintiff’s attorney Cyrus Dashtaki stated, “This is a staggering failure of basic human decency and civil rights. Hotel staff looked a paralyzed athlete in the eye, illegally rejected him and his service dog, and abandoned him to a humiliating medical emergency in their lobby. We will demand full accountability from each of these companies before a St. Louis jury so no individual with a disability is ever subjected to this kind of cruelty and loss of dignity again.”
Dashtaki Law Firm, LLC exclusively represents people against corporations who discriminate based on race, sex, religion, national origin, or disability in places of public accommodation. Please visit www.Dashtaki.com for more information.