A federal trial in Rapid City concluded Friday as a jury delivered its verdict in the discrimination lawsuit brought by NDN Collective against the Retsel Corporation, owners of the Grand Gateway Hotel.
The suit alleged the hotel discriminated by refusing to rent rooms to Native Americans. The jury ruled against the hotel on nearly every claim.
Jurors found in favor of NDN Collective’s discrimination claim and awarded the organization $1 in damages, a symbolic amount the group specifically requested to emphasize that the case was not about financial gain.
The jury also upheld five individual discrimination claims from George Bettelyoun, Sunny Red Bear, Bre Jackson, Mary Bowman, and Nick Cottier, awarding compensatory and punitive damages ranging from $8,000 to $25,000.
In addition, the jury found Retsel Corporation liable for Connie Uhre’s assault on Sunny Red Bear and awarded $1,000 in damages.
Counterclaims of defamation filed by Nick Uhre and Retsel Corporation against NDN Collective were rejected. However, the jury did rule in favor of one counterclaim, finding that NDN Collective created a nuisance and awarding the hotel $812.
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