Warfield v. Peninsula Golf & Country Club

• Decision Date: 29 June 1995
• Docket Number: No. S031285,S031285
• Citation: 896 P.2d 776,42 Cal.Rptr.2d 50,10 Cal.4th 594
• Court: California Supreme Court
• Parties: , 896 P.2d 776, 64 USLW 2036, 95 Daily Journal D.A.R. 8607 Mary Ann WARFIELD, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. PENINSULA GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB et al., Defendants and Respondents.

Page 50

42 Cal.Rptr.2d 50

10 Cal.4th 594, 896 P.2d 776, 64 USLW 2036,

95 Daily Journal D.A.R. 8607

Mary Ann WARFIELD, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. PENINSULA GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB et al., Defendants and Respondents.

No. S031285.

Supreme Court of California.

June 29, 1995.

Rehearing Denied Sept. 21, 1995.

[10 Cal.4th 598] [896 P.2d 777] Jon W. Davidson, A.C.L.U. Foundation of Southern Cal., Los Angeles, for appellant.

Paul D. Herbert, Ropers, Majeski, Kohn, Bentley, Wagner & Kane, San Francisco, for respondents.

GEORGE, Associate Justice.

In the case before us, we are called upon to determine whether California's "public accommodation" statute (Civil Code section 51, also commonly known as the Unruh Civil Rights Act) ¹ precludes private social clubs from engaging in prohibited discrimination in their membership policies, and, in particular, whether this statute bars defendant Peninsula Golf & Country Club (hereafter defendant or the club) from excluding women from proprietary membership.

Section 51 provides that "[a]ll persons within the jurisdiction of this state are free and equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, or disability, are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever. " (Italics added.) The issue we must decide is whether the activities and operations of defendant club render it a "business establishment" for purposes of section 51, so as to prohibit the club from excluding women from the "advantages" and "privileges" of proprietary membership.

We emphasize at the outset that our resolution of the legal issue before us does not turn upon our personal views as to the wisdom or morality of the exclusionary membership policy challenged in this case. Instead, our task involves a question of statutory interpretation. The question before us is whether the trial court properly concluded, in light of the nature and activities of defendant club as established by the record, that the club does not constitute a "business establishment" within the meaning of section 51.

As we shall explain, although the language of section 51, its historical background,

                [896 P.2d 778]  and the past decisions of this court interpreting the statutory provision establish that a truly private social club generally would not constitute a "business establishment" within the meaning of section 51, we conclude that the operations of the club here at issue bring it within the terms of the very broad language of the statute ("all business establishments of every kind whatsoever " (italics added)).  As we shall see, although the record indicates that defendant's financial support comes primarily from dues and fees paid by its members, the club derives a significant amount of revenue, as well as indirect financial benefit, from the use of its facilities, and the purchase of goods and services on its premises, by persons who are not members of the club.  Because such "business transactions" with nonmembers are conducted on a regular and repeated basis and constitute an integral part of the club's operations--supplementing the members' own financial contributions and reducing the dues and fees that members otherwise would be required to pay in order to maintain the club's facilities and operations--we conclude that the club falls within the very broad category of "business establishments" governed by the nondiscrimination mandate of section 51.    Additionally, in light of the nature and specific purposes of defendant club, we reject its argument that application of section 51 to the membership policies of the club would violate its members' rights of association and privacy under the federal and California Constitutions
                

I

The facts underlying this litigation are largely undisputed. Defendant is a nonprofit social and recreational club that is owned and operated by a portion of its membership. Its facilities include a golf course, a driving range, putting greens, tennis courts, a swimming pool, locker rooms, a clubhouse, a dining room, several bars, a ballroom, and golf and tennis "pro" shops. In 1981, the relevant time period for purposes of these proceedings, the club had a number of categories of membership, each carrying its own distinct set of privileges with regard to use of the club's facilities. ² At that time, the club had 350 proprietary members and approximately 350 additional members holding other categories of membership. Because most In 1981, the facilities of the club were, as a general rule, available for use only by club members, their spouses, and their children under the age of 21 years, as well as the invited guests of members. There were, however, a number of exceptions to this general policy.

[10 Cal.4th 600] [896 P.2d 779] categories of membership authorized use of the club's facilities by both the member and the member's spouse and children under age 21, the number of persons with relatively unrestricted access to the club's facilities was considerably greater than 700. The record, however, does not disclose the specific number of persons who had general access to the club's facilities under the existing memberships.

First, the golf and tennis "pro" shops, which were housed in structures located on the club's premises and owned by the club, were open to the general public as well as club members. Although the golf and tennis professionals who operated the pro shops received a monthly retainer from the club, the professionals were considered independent contractors under their agreements with the club, and they owned and had full control over the pricing and sale of the merchandise carried by the pro shops. As noted, nonmembers as well as members were permitted to enter the club's premises to purchase merchandise from the pro shops, and such patrons also were permitted to take paid lessons from the professionals and use the club's facilities during such lessons. Although the club did not receive a share of the profits earned by the golf and tennis professionals, the record indicates that the operations of the pro shops were not completely distinct from the club's operations. For example, the golf pro was responsible for collecting and remitting to the club the greens fees charged by the club, and the golf and tennis pros in scheduling lessons for nonmembers were expected "not to take any prime times or use the facilities in any way that would interfere with the members' use of the facilities."

Second, in addition to permitting nonmembers to use the facilities and services of the golf and tennis pro shops, the club also allowed the use of many of its facilities by nonmembers as hosts of, or participants in, "sponsored events," such as golf or tennis tournaments, wedding receptions, bar mitzvahs, fashion shows, and special luncheons and dinners. These sponsored events were held, on average, once a week. For a nonmember (typically the friend of a member, or a charitable or professional organization) to host such an event at the club, the event had to be sponsored by a member. The sponsoring club member assumed responsibility for the event, but charges incurred for the event often were billed directly to the nonmember hosting the event. The charges assessed by the club for sponsored events were based upon the facilities of the club that were to be used. For example, an extra charge would be assessed if the participants in a golf tournament at the club were allowed to use the club's tennis courts as well. Although the record does not reflect the specific amounts typically charged by the club for such sponsored events, it does indicate that, at sponsored or "outside" golf tournaments, the greens fee charged by the club for each participant was higher than that charged at other times. Participants at sponsored events also could purchase food and beverages from the snack bar and other dining facilities on the club's premises. A club employee testified that there was a "mark up" on all food and beverages sold at the club.

Third, in addition to the use of the club's facilities by nonmembers in connection with the pro shop operations and with "sponsored events," nonmember employees of the club generally were permitted to use the facilities on Mondays, when the club was closed to members; the record does not suggest, however, that club employees were required to pay for such use. Fourth and finally, the record discloses that the club also permitted the golf teams of several local high schools to use the golf course, free of charge, during limited, nonprime hours.

When members used the club facilities or the pro shops, they paid for goods and services provided by the club (such as food and beverages, or merchandise or lessons from the golf and tennis professionals), either with cash or by signing chits (receipts listing the amount of the purchase, and signed by the A number of club members testified that, on occasion, they brought business associates (clients or employees) to the club as invited guests, either for meals or for recreational activities, and that their businesses sometimes paid for the expenses involved in such occasions. Several club members also testified that, through their membership in the club, they had met other members who thereafter had become their patients, clients, or customers. Virtually all of the members who testified at trial stated, however, that they joined the club for its social and recreational attributes, not for its potential value for business purposes, and emphasized that they generally viewed the club as a refuge from, rather than an adjunct to, the business world.

[896 P.2d 780] member). The club then billed the member for the chits and remitted the appropriate sums to the golf and tennis pros. In addition to the purchase of goods and services by its members, the primary sources of income for the club were...