Private Club, L.A. Sue Each Other
An elite downtown private club and the City of Los Angeles today filed lawsuits against each other over an ordinance that makes it illegal for large private clubs to exclude people on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin or disability.
The Jonathan Club, which had complied by admitting a dozen women as members in April, filed a suit in U.S. District Court challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance and asked the court to stay enforcement until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the validity of a similar New York City ordinance. Meanwhile, City Atty. James K. Hahn asked the Los Angeles Superior Court to order the club to stop denying women members and guests access to a men’s bar and grill.
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