Barneys did nothing wrong by allegedly calling the cops on a customer who claims he was just “shopping while black,” new court papers argue.
The high-end men’s clothing store says in documents filed in Manhattan Federal Court that a shopper’s suit should be dismissed because his civil rights were not violated when he was detained by police after buying a $349 belt in 2013.
“At most, (Barneys) is merely alleged to have notified the NYPD of plaintiff’s purchase. Simply providing information to the police — even if subsequently found to be in error — does not subject the informant to liability for false arrest,” attorneys for Barneys wrote in the recently filed papers.
The shopper, Trayon Christian, 20, sued the retailer and the city last year over the encounter, charging that he was the victim of racial profiling, and his allegations sparked an overhaul of Barneys practices.
The college student from Corona, Queens, had forked over the big bucks for a Ferragamo belt and walked out of Barneys flagship Madison Ave. location when two undercover NYPD cops hassled him. The detectives were skeptical Christian could have afforded the stylish accessory.
Christian was hauled to the 19th Precinct stationhouse and detained for two hours before he was released without being charged, he said.
Police said they were notified about Christian’s purchase by suspicious Barneys workers.
A second shopper, Kayla Phillips, then came forward and said she endured a similar ordeal.
The ensuing furor led to the store paying $525,000 in a settlement with state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, as well as a pledge to post a “customer bill of rights” endorsed by Rev. Al Sharpton.
“We (have) absolutely no tolerance for discrimination of any kind,” Barneys CEO Mark Lee said last year.
But in the new filings, the upscale retailer argues that Christian has no legal basis for arguing he was the victim of discrimination by Barneys.
Christian “suffered no harm through any conduct by Barneys,” court papers read.
He “does not allege that he was denied access to the store, restricted from making a purchase or questioned by Barneys personnel upon exiting.”
Kirsten John Foy, regional director for Sharpton’s National Action Network, said Barneys should not try to thwart holding all parties accountable for racial profiling.
“We firmly believe profiling is at the core of the problem. Whether it was Barneys or the police — the court needs to determine that,” he said.
“We’ve got to get to the core of why the police were called in the first place.”
He said Barneys was expected to have a presence at the National Action Network’s convention this week — and that the retailer had been open to reform.
“We hope the legal jargon does not reflect their corporate conscience,” he said.
Howard Robbins, an attorney for Barneys, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Christian’s attorney, Michael Palillo, did not respond to an inquiry.
