A popular Bay Area restaurant in California is closing its doors after settling a costly discrimination lawsuit over its “Ladies' Night” promotion.
Lima Restaurant, a family-owned Peruvian restaurant in Concord, Calif., about 20 miles from Oakland, told patrons it would serve its last meal on New Year's Eve because of a sex discrimination lawsuit.
Chef and owner John Marquez said a lawsuit filed last year cost his restaurant tens of thousands of dollars and hit the business' cash flow hard.
“We have not fully recovered from the recent discrimination lawsuit related to the ladies' night discount,” Marquez said, adding that the company has not fully recovered from the soaring costs of operating its business. told KRON-TV .
For the past few years, the restaurant, which has been open for nearly 10 years, has been running a weekly “Ladies' Night” promotion that offers women patrons half-price drinks and wine for three hours.
Marquez said he believes the people behind the lawsuit are not local residents but “ambulance-chasing lawyers” trying to make money out of state law.
“It's a frivolous lawsuit that we lost.” Marquez told ABC7 News..
The news that Lima Restaurant would be closing soon did not go down well with patrons.
“Promoting one gender doesn't discriminate against one gender,” John Diaz, a regular at the restaurant, told KRON-TV.
“Hello, I'm a woman. If I want to hang out with girls, I don't think it's rude,” added Mel Rudejese, who was having one last drink with Diaz in Lima.
Earlier this year, the Fresno Grizzlies, a minor league baseball team that is the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, faced with similar discrimination lawsuits After allowing women free admission as part of its “Ladies Night” promotion last year.
According to the Fresno Bee, the Grizzlies have been sued for $5 million.
Plaintiffs in Fresno Grizzlies lawsuit are represented by San Diego-based attorneys Oakland Athletics reach agreement with $500,000 settlement In 2016, she filed a class-action lawsuit against a baseball team over a free plaid reversible bucket hat she gave away on Mother's Day.
Attorney Alfred Raba claimed in the lawsuit that he was the victim of sex discrimination by the Athletics because he did not receive a free plaid reversible bucket hat during a promotion at an Athletics game on May 8, 2004. .
In 1985, the California Supreme Court ruled that similar “Women's Day” promotions at businesses such as car washes and nightclubs violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act of 1959.
State law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, or immigration status.
California is not the only state where courts have ruled that “ladies' night” promotions may constitute unlawful discrimination.
Courts in New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, Iowa, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin have decided cases in which promotions based on gender are considered illegal.
