Writers Guild of America, West, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles

*477 Opinion

Plaintiffs are the Writers Guild of America, West, Inc., a nonprofit California corporation, an association and labor organization of writers, and individuals Paul Guay, R. E. Daniels, Burt Prelutsky, Nancy de los Santos, Martin Schenk and Lucian Turscott IV. Defendants are the City of Los Angeles (the City) and individuals, employees of the City, sued in their official capacity. In their first amended complaint (complaint), plaintiffs challenge the constitutionality of the business tax ordinance (BTO) contained in the Los Angeles Municipal Code insofar as it mandates the registration, licensing and taxation of writers, including the individual plaintiffs, who reside in the City and engage in the creative writing process in their homes. (L. A. Mun. Code, § 21.00 et seq.) The trial court sustained the defendants’ demurrer without leave to amend and dismissed the complaint. Plaintiffs appealed.

In reviewing the sufficiency of the complaint against a general demurrer that was sustained, we treat the demurrer as admitting all material facts that are properly pleaded and determine whether the complaint states facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. (Blank v.…