Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

Get more case briefs explained with Quimbee. Quimbee has over 16,300 case briefs (and counting) keyed to 223 casebooks ► https://www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-overview Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority | 365 U.S. 715 (1961) Court opinions reveal a lot about the time and place they come from. Decisions recognizing a right to discriminate based on race, color, or sex are distasteful and even offensive today. But to understand where we are and where we’re headed, we need to understand where we come from. And an important step in this journey is the 1961 decision in Burton versus Wilmington Parking Authority. The Wilmington Parking Authority, a governmental agency we’ll call the Authority, built a parking structure with retail space in Wilmington, Delaware. The Authority leased space in the structure for a restaurant run by Eagle Coffee Shoppe Incorporated, a private business that we’ll call Eagle. Eagle refused to serve Wilmington City Councilman William Burton because he was African American. Burton then sued the restaurant and the Authority in the Court of Chancery. The chancellor concluded that the Authority violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The Supreme Court of Delaware reversed, ruling that Eagle was a private entity, and that, therefore, the Equal Protection Clause didn’t apply. Burton then appealed to the United States Supreme Court. Want more details on this case? Get the rule of law, issues, holding and reasonings, and more case facts here: https://www.quimbee.com/cases/burton-v-wilmington-parking-authority The Quimbee App features over 16,300 case briefs keyed to 223 casebooks. Try it free for 7 days! ► https://www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-overview Have Questions about this Case? Submit your questions and get answers from a real attorney here: https://www.quimbee.com/cases/burton-v-wilmington-parking-authority Did we just become best friends? Stay connected to Quimbee here: Subscribe to our YouTube Channel ► https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=QuimbeeDotCom Quimbee Case Brief App ► https://www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-overview Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/quimbeedotcom/ Twitter ► https://twitter.com/quimbeedotcom #casebriefs #lawcases #casesummaries

Added 13 Jul 2026