McCrea and White v. Sun Taxi Association et al.

Sexual orientation discrimination case where a cab driver demanded that a gay couple get out of his taxi after they exchanged a kiss.

 

On May 30, 2013, Steven White and Matthew McCrea were leaving O’Hare International Airport and secured a taxi from the dispatch line outside of the airport terminal. Towards the beginning of their ride home, White and McCrea exchanged a brief kiss, after which the cab driver flashed the interior lights on and off. The driver then pulled over to the shoulder of the John F. Kennedy Expressway and demanded that White and McCrea get out of the cab. It was raining, and the couple refused to exit the cab. Instead, they called 311, the city’s municipal information number. The driver then abruptly re-entered the expressway and sped towards the nearest exit, prompting the operator to transfer the couple’s call for help to 911. The driver exited the expressway, stopped at a nearby parking lot and again demanded the couple get out of the cab. The couple was told by the 911 operator that a police officer would be sent to meet them. The couple remained in the cab until the officer arrived. The officer then waited with White and McCrea until another taxi came to pick them up.

In June 2013, White and McCrea contacted Lambda Legal’s Help Desk.