City Sues Brentwood Country Club, Cites Bias Against Women

In the first enforcement of a new ordinance outlawing discrimination at larger private clubs in Los Angeles, the city attorney’s office sued the Brentwood Country Club on Thursday, claiming that it segregates its women members.

The 80-year-old club is accused in the Los Angeles Superior Court complaint of maintaining a men-only dining area and of limiting the time women can use its sprawling golf course.

“If a woman pays membership dues, she should be allowed to use the club equally and fully and not be told where she can sit and when she can play golf,” Deputy City Atty. Pamela Albers said. Explaining that club officials have not been served with any legal papers, manager Rainer Gehres declined comment on the specifics of the lawsuit.

However, Gehres said, the club has followed a policy “all over the years of our existence that we do not discriminate for any reason in relationship to our membership.

“We have had many women members and have had for years.”

The city’s action was prompted by a complaint from an informant who wrote to club President Saul N. Rittenberg on July 1 about possible violations of the law, Albers said. The informant, who also notified the city attorney’s office, was not identified.

The country club at 590 S. Burlingame Ave. has a membership roster of 500 and offers a variety of attractions.

According to the complaint, one of the club’s features is a men’s grill that is partitioned off from the restaurant. Signs are posted indicating that the area--taking up a quarter to a third of the huge dining room--is reserved for men until after 3:30 each afternoon.

Moreover, the complaint alleges, club rules prohibit women from playing golf before 2:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and before 11 a.m. on Sundays and holidays.

“They are working on the assumption that women don’t have jobs and can golf any time they want and that men are out there slugging away and so should be given the prime golf times,” Albers said.

Out at the club, only a few foursomes could be seen on the course Thursday, and few knew about the lawsuit. Those who did indicated that they were happy with the present club rules.

“It’s ridiculous,” said longtime member Mrs. Herbert Heyman. “I get plenty of time to play golf. I play Tuesday and Sunday, and could play the other days if I wanted to.

“Our husbands worked hard to earn this privilege for us. Why should we turn around and take their privileges away from them?”

One man, dressed in golf shirt and slacks, said: “It’s chicken and unwarranted. Men are restricted from playing on Tuesday mornings and Fridays once a month. So it has been a trade-off that has worked well.”

The anti-discrimination ordinance, passed unanimously by the City Council last May in an effort to curb unequal treatment at clubs and organizations with memberships of at least 400, calls for fines of at least $250 for each violation.

The law, which went into effect June 29, also bans discrimination on the basis of race, sexual orientation, color, ancestry, religion, national origin and disability.

In addition to the minimum membership, clubs covered under the ordinance are those that provide regular meal service and accept payment on behalf or from non-members who use the facilities.

The city attorney’s complaint also alleges violations of California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in a business-oriented environment.

The lawsuit asks that a Superior Court judge find the country club’s rules illegal and issue an order requiring the club to redraft them.

Albers said club officials were provided with and asked to review a copy of the ordinance, but “they simply didn’t take it seriously. . . . I think that is what is really disappointing.”