Hessians Motorcycle Club v. JC FLANAGANS

A sports bar denied Omittance to members of two motorcycle clubs when they refused to comply with the bar's policy requiring them to remove their "colors" (the patch on a motorcycle jacket signifying membership in a particular club) before entering. The excluded club members sued, asserting the tavern violated their rights under the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civ.Code, [1] §§ 51, 52; hereafter the Unruh Civil Rights Act or the Act). In a trial based on stipulated facts, the court found no Unruh Civil Rights Act violation and entered judgment for the bar. We affirm.

The parties stipulated to the following facts: Defendant J.C. Flanagans (Flanagans) is a sports bar which admits patrons wearing casual attire, including "motorcycle" attire, with one pertinent restriction. Flanagans refuses entry to anyone wearing "colors" or a patch indicating membership in a particular motorcycle club. Flanagans offers a security rationale for the policy: Its management believes allowing colors to be worn would lead to fights between rival motorcycle gangs in the bar. No such incident has ever occurred at Flanagans.

On two different occasions, members of two motorcycle clubs…