Harris

Introduction and Summary of Decision

We consider in this case two issues involving interpretation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civ. Code, §§51, 52; hereafter the Unruh Act or the Act; all statutory references are to the Civil Code unless otherwise indicated): (1) does the Act proscribe, as economic discrimination, a landlord’s requirement that prospective tenants have gross monthly incomes of at least three times the rent to be charged (the minimum income policy) and (2) can a female plaintiff state a cause of action under the Act by alleging that the minimum income policy has an adverse or disparate impact on women? Our review of the language and history of the Act indicates that both questions must be answered in the negative.

The Unruh Act prohibits denial of access to public accommodations based on specified classifications (i.e., race, sex, religion and others). Economic and financial distinctions are not among the impermissible classifications listed in the statute. Although our decisions have occasionally recognized additional categories of prohibited discrimination (e.g., physical appearance and family status), those categories were based on personal…

Until today, it was well established that the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civ. Code, § 51 et seq.; hereafter the Unruh Act or the Act) protected the citizens of California against all arbitrary discrimination in the marketplace. In full retreat from the goal of equal access and opportunity, the majority today limit the Act so as to insulate invidious discrimination on the basis of economic class from legal redress. When we permit a landlord to refuse to rent an apartment because a tenant, who can afford to pay the rent, fails to meet an arbitrary income test, we promote rigid and invidious class distinctions which not only injure individuals who seek to better their positions, but which also undermine the vitality of the American dream of social mobility. I protest an interpretation of the Act that overturns established case law, ignores the intent of the Legislature, and damages our social fabric.

In this case, plaintiffs allege that, though they can afford to pay the rent which the landlord is asking for a rental unit, they were excluded from applying for the unit because of the landlord’s policy of excluding any applicant whose monthly income is not greater than three times the…

The majority hold, as a matter of law, that defendant’s minimum income policy does not violate the Unruh Civil Rights Act. Upon reflection, however, I must agree in principle with Justice Broussard’s dissent that plaintiffs here have pled a facially valid cause of action under the Unruh Act. Because there are factual issues unresolved, the issue could not be disposed of on demurrer.

As the Court of Appeal found, whether an announced policy is arbitrary or unreasonable is to be determined by a trier of fact. Is the three-times-rent criterion an accurate predictor of a tenant’s ability to meet his or her financial obligations? Is the criterion customarily used in the financial industry and, if so, is it reasonable? Is the criterion appropriate in all parts of the state, or do the variations in income levels render it valid in some locales and arbitrary in others? These and other questions clearly require a factual determination.

Since the majority determine these and similar issues on demurrer as a matter of law, I believe they err and therefore dissent.

We consider in this case two issues involving interpretation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civ. Code, §§ 51, 52; hereafter the Unruh Act or the Act; all statutory references are to the Civil Code unless otherwise indicated): (1) does the Act proscribe, as economic discrimination, a landlord's requirement that prospective tenants have gross monthly incomes of at least three times the rent to be charged (the minimum income policy) and (2) can a female plaintiff state a cause of action under the Act by alleging that the minimum income policy has an adverse or disparate impact on women? Our review of the language and history of the Act indicates that both questions must be answered in the negative.

The Unruh Act prohibits denial of access to public accommodations based on specified classifications (i.e., race, sex, religion and others). Economic and financial distinctions are not among the impermissible classifications listed in the statute. Although our decisions have occasionally recognized additional categories of prohibited discrimination (e.g., physical appearance and family status), those categories were based on personal characteristics of individuals…