The plaintiff tried to enter a discotheque located in the city centre of Munich together with friends for testing purposes. This test was meant to determine whether the nightclub practiced discriminating access controls. That kind of measure is called “testing”.

The plaintiff and his friend are dark-skinned and were denied entry to the nightclub on account that only students were admitted. When shortly after two other friends of Turkish origin tried to get in, the bouncer refused them entry for the same reason. However, two other fair-skinned friends of the plaintiff were accepted to enter the nightclub.

The District Court of Munich on 23 July 2014 rejected the complaint on grounds that the plaintiff did not present sufficient proof for discrimination. The court did not exclude the possibility of discrimination, but considered that other reasons were plausible. The court referred to the outfit, the mood and the appearance of the plaintiff. All those examples could be considered plausible reasons for the refusal to enter that were not related to the color of the plaintiff’s skin. The court lacked proof that none of the other mentioned reasons lead to the refusal to enter. The court outlined that it was not a decision on the merits but a matter of compliance with the law.