Men Reach Settlement With Starbucks, Philly After April Arrests

PHILADELPHIA – A reached settlement has been reached between two men arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks in April with the City of Philadelphia and Starbucks. The case gained national attention after the men were arrested for refusing to leave the coffeeshop after being told by staffers to do so because they hadn't purchased anything.

Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson have settled the incident with the city for just $1 each under a specific condition and reached an undisclosed financial settlement with Starbucks, according to multiple reports.

Nelson and Robinson settled with the City of Philadelphia for a buck each on the condition that officials establish a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs, according to Action News.

Robinson and Nelson were arrested April 12 inside the Starbucks at 18th and Spruce streets in Center City Philadelphia while waiting for another person to discuss a business deal.

"We thought long and hard about it and we feel like this is the best way to see that change that we want to see," Robinson said of the settlement, according to NBC10. "It's not a right-now thing that's good for right now, but I feel like we will see the true change over time."

The outlet reports the program will be aimed toward Philadelphia public school students.

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson, Nelson, and Robinson issued a joint statement Wednesday, May 2 after they all met in the days following their arrest saying an agreement has been reached between the men and the company.

"After constructive conversations, and mediation before a retired federal judge in Philadelphia, Robinson, Nelson and Kevin Johnson, ceo of Starbucks Coffee Company reached a settlement agreement earlier this week that will allow both sides to move forward and continue to talk and explore means of preventing similar occurrences at any Starbucks location," the statement reads.

The settlement includes a confidential financial settlement as well as a commitment to continued listening and dialogue between the parties as a means toward developing specific actions and opportunities.

"We appreciate the opportunity to have meaningful discussions with KevinJohnson and the group around the table to address hard issues," Nelson and Robinson said in the joint statement. We all recognize the importance of communication about differences and solutions, and that we will be measured by our action not words."

Not only was there a financial settlement reached with Starbucks, Robinson and Nelson will have an
opportunity to provide input based on their personal experience to former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder as part of company’s long-term diversity and equity efforts. The pair have also been offered the chance to complete undergraduate degrees through the Starbucks College Achievement Plan,

The pair were arrested without incident and held in police custody for several hours before being released without charges.

"I am pleased to have resolved the potential claims against the city in this productive manner," Mayor Jim Kenney said, according to Action News. "This was an incident that evoked a lot of pain in our city and put us under a national spotlight for unwanted reasons."

After the incident, protests and calls for the manager who called police on Nelson and Robinson to be fired broke out. The manager subsequently left the job.

Johnson issued an apology statement shortly after the incident.

Before Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross issued an apology statement saying he made the situation worse, police released audio of the 911 call and police radio chatter of the April 12 incident.

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