Midpeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing v. Westwood Investors

Midpeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing (MCFH) sued Westwood Investors and Richard Gregersen, the owners and manager of a Cupertino apartment building, claiming that the rental policy at the apartment complex limiting occupancy to one person per bedroom was discriminatory within the meaning of the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civ. Code, § 51 et seq.; hereafter Unruh Act.) The trial court entered judgment in favor of the Westwood defendants solely on the basis that MCFH did not have standing to sue under the Unruh Act.

In this appeal MCFH argues that it has standing both under the Unruh Act and under California’s unfair competition statute, Business and Professions Code section 17204. We agree with the trial court that MCFH did not have standing under the Unruh Act. However, the recent case of Consumers Union of United States, Inc. v. Fisher Development, Inc. (1989) 208 Cal.App.3d 1433 [ 257 Cal.Rptr. 151 ] persuades us that standing is nonetheless proper under Business and Professions Code section 17204. But since that section provides only for injunctive relief, and the one person per bedroom policy challenged by MCFH is no longer in effect at the Westwood apartments, no…