Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority

Burton (plaintiff), a Black man, was refused service by the Eagle Coffee Shoppe, a private restaurant leasing space inside a parking building operated by the publicly created Wilmington Parking Authority (WPA) (defendant), which was built and largely funded with public money and relied on the restaurant's rent to help cover its costs. The Delaware Supreme Court held the restaurant's discriminatory refusal wasn't state action and denied Burton relief, and Burton appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.