Motel pays $40,000, shuts down to settle discrimination case

Raj Patel, owner of the Southern Inn in Perry, won’t own or operate any motel or other form of lodging anywhere in the United States as part of the agreement. Crist’s office will distribute the settlement money to victims, who will receive at least $1,000 each.

“It’s hard to imagine that in this day and age this kind of thing could still occur, but regrettably it does,” Crist said. “People should be treated appropriately and there should never be discrimination. And if you operate in that fashion, you will not operate in Florida.”

Crist’s lawsuit against the motel, about 50 miles southeast of Tallahassee, alleged that Patel kept a separate wing at the inn for black guests and telling black customers that they could not use the pool. The lawsuit said Patel’s wife once charged black guests $5 each to use the pool before Patel “raged” at the guests to get out.

Patrick Sneed was a guest at the motel for a family reunion when Patel told his family he couldn’t use the pool. He said his sons were in the pool when Patel dumped chemicals in it to force them out. Sneed wrote a letter to the state attorney general’s office, alerting officials of Patel’s actions.

“I had to look my sons in the eye and say ‘I can accept this kind of behavior or I can take some steps to address it,'” said Sneed.

Calls were not answered at the Southern Inn, which has shut down. Patel’s lawyer didn’t immediately return calls for comment.

The lawsuit was the first filed under a state civil rights act passed by the Legislature two years ago. The new law allows the Attorney General’s Office to file civil charges for patterns of discrimination.

Perry is the same town that faced protests in 2001 because a black bar customer was told he could only be served in a back room.