NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana man claims he was discriminated against and his employment ultimately terminated – by his own family members – because of his sexual orientation.
Plaintiff Stephen F. Stumpf Jr. filed his lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The named defendants are Audubon Art LLC, Durr Heavy Construction LLC, and Rhino Art LLC. All three are owned and operated by his family in Harahan, Louisiana.
Stumpf, 46 and a Jefferson Parish resident, is gay.
He contends his firing was the result of “illegal, intentional discrimination” for his sexual orientation and “unjustified treatment” under federal law.
At 16, Stumpf began working part time for Durr Heavy Construction LLC, the Stumpf family business.
After graduating from LSU with an undergraduate degree in general business in 2003, he took a full-time position as the facilities manager for Durr. He was responsible for maintaining business properties.
Dana Stumpf, his older sister, is the current CEO of Durr and Donna Stumpf, his mother, was a legal manager of Durr at the time.
In addition to working for Durr, he also was the legal manager for Rhino Art, another Stumpf family business. He was responsible for valuable art acquisitions, restoration, and sales.
According to his lawsuit, Stumpf received his salary for work performed at Rhino from Durr. He was expected to perform work for Rhino at his Durr office space.
Later, he began performing similar responsibilities for an additional family business, Audubon Art. Again, he received his salary from Durr and was expected to work at his Durr office space.
Up until late 2024, there were no complaints or performance actions about his performance at any of the businesses, he claims.
However, in late 2024, his mother, Donna, confronted him about his sexual orientation and expressed her disapproval of his same-sex relationship.
After he became angry, Stumpf claims she prohibited his long-term partner from entering any of their family-owned properties, including his office at Durr.
He claims she even canceled his flight to a work conference in Las Vegas because of it.
At the same time, Dana, his sister, stopped communicating with him, he alleges.
“This conduct escalated when Dana Stumpf began stripping back Stevie’s work duties with no explanation,” the eight-page complaint states.
Then, in February 2025, he learned he was removed from all security camera access to the facilities he managed.
Soon after, he also learned he was cut out from various business decisions, including a construction project and an insurance claim.
By July 2025, he alleges he was “completely locked out” of the Durr office building.
In addition, he was removed from his legal manager position and has been refused commissions and reimbursements, he claims.
On July 18, 2025, Stumpf claims he received a letter from his sister terminating his employment.
According to his lawsuit, his positions at all three family companies were taken over by his sister and mother, “two heterosexual females.”
He seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees and court costs.
Kenneth C. Bordes Attorney At Law LLC in New Orleans is representing him in the lawsuit.
