Neon Cactus settles racial discrimination lawsuit

Neon Cactus settled with a former manager Tuesday after he sued the bar for alleged racial discrimination in March.
Taylor Hardy filed the lawsuit March 11, suing Neon Cactus for “discrimination against him on the basis or face and retaliation against him for his complaint of race discrimination.”
Campus
Cactus under fire
BY WIL COURTNEY
Staff Reporter
4 min to read
“The Court accordingly ACKNOWLEDGES that all claims and counterclaims are DISMISSED with prejudice,” the order to dismiss filed Oct. 1 reads.
The suit was dismissed by the court with prejudice, meaning the plaintiff is unable to refile the same claim in court, according to the Legal Information Institute.
Angie Brown, co-owner of Neon Cactus, told the Exponent Wednesday that "if the case is discussed, it can go back into the court."
The terms of the settlement were not included in court documents filed Aug. 21. Both parties are currently set to pay their own attorneys’ fees and costs unless stated in the terms of their settlement.
Neon Cactus was sued back in March for alleged "racial discrimination." The plaintiff, Taylor Hardy, worked at the business for about four months before he was fired.
David Hickey | Senior Photographer
“I believe it is a mutually agreed upon settlement,” Hardy told the Exponent Wednesday night. “We gave an offer and they agreed to an offer.”
Hardy did not comment on the terms of the settlement, but told the Exponent there “should have been more” because it did not “really resolve the ultimate matter.”
“Obviously the purpose of this lawsuit was to promote change, and what I really want to see is that change was actually done pretty well," he said. "Talking about monetary deals is really tough for them to change their behavior and change the culture and stop their practices. I'm hoping that this lawsuit brought them to light and shows them that change needs to be made.”
City & State
Neon Cactus DJ fired after equipment reportedly damaged
BY WIL COURTNEY
Staff Reporter
2 min to read
According to the court documents, Hardy began working for Neon Cactus in December 2022 and worked there until March 11, 2023, when he was allegedly fired for raising complaints about race discrimination with Ethan Brown, one of the owners.
“Specifically, he raised issues about discriminatory racial bias, racist comments and a work environment that was saturated with hostility toward African Americans who failed to satisfy Brown’s expectation that African Americans be assimilated to white Midwestern culture in order to fit into his bar,” said the complaint, filed against Neon Cactus.
.....................
Every Exponent article goes through checks for accuracy before publication. If you have a concern or questions about this article, please email [email protected].