SIMI VALLEY : Man Sues Nightclub Over Alleged Bias

A Simi Valley school board member has filed a $15,000 lawsuit against a nightclub, alleging that the owners sexually discriminated against him by turning him away in July for wearing shorts.

Doug Crosse claims in the lawsuit that women dressed similarly were allowed to enter Judge Roy Bean’s, 2780 Tapo Canyon Road.

“Mr. Crosse was told that the dress code doesn’t apply to women,” said his attorney, Sylvia Simmons.

As a result, Crosse “continues to suffer humiliation, embarrassment, severe mental and emotional distress and discomfort,” the suit says.

The suit, filed in Ventura County Superior Court on Jan. 28, names club partners Maureen and Stanley Manning and Michael and Lynda Kamerman.

A dress code posted inside the club states “no T-shirts, tank tops, shorts or sandals” after the entertainment begins at 9 p.m. Men and women who do not comply with the code are asked to change before entering the cocktail lounge seven nights a week, Michael Kamerman said.

Maureen Manning said some women in the club that night may have been wearing culottes, skirts that resemble shorts.

Crosse returned home to put on pants that night and was subsequently served at the bar, said Douglas A. Demaret, the Mannings’ attorney.

Crosse was elected to the school board in November.