Court Rules Salon Biased Against AIDS Patient
The California Court of Appeals, reversing a lower court decision, ruled this week that Jessica’s Nail Clinic discriminated against a West Hollywood man in 1986 when it canceled his pedicure appointment after a manicurist discovered that the man had AIDS.
In what was widely viewed as a test case, the court on Wednesday also upheld the validity of a West Hollywood ordinance that protects those with AIDS from discrimination by businesses.
Attorney Gloria Allred filed suit in 1987 on behalf of Paul Jasperson, who died this last May of complications from AIDS.
Attorneys for the salon, who won the first round in Superior Court, argued that sharp instruments used in a pedicure could puncture Jasperson’s skin and expose others to the deadly AIDS virus. Jessica Vartoughian, owner of the salon, had no comment on the most recent decision.
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