US attorney: Restaurant pays $3K in service dog settlement

HATTIESBURG, Miss (AP) - The U.S. attorney in Jackson says a Hattiesburg restaurant will pay $3,000 for telling a woman that she and her service dog had to leave, then seating them in a corner.

Gregory Davis says in a news release Monday that the Grand China Buffet Restaurant will pay $2,500 to Vickie Killingsworth and $500 to the Justice Department for violating her civil rights.

He says Killingsworth uses a wheelchair, and told a restaurant hostess in September 2013 that the dog is her service animal because she's mobility impaired.

Davis says Killingsworth and her friends eventually were seated "in a corner well away from other customers," and after eating were told, "Next time no dog."

He says owner Zhen Fei Chen has agreed to training about service animals for owners and staff, and will install signs welcoming people with service animals.