Hubert v. Williams
Appellate Department, Superior Court, Los Angeles County, California
184 Cal. Rptr. 161 (App. Dep’t Super. Ct. 1982)
William Hubert (plaintiff), a quadriplegic tenant, employed Cindy Kelly (plaintiff), who is homosexual, as his 24-hour attendant, and rented his apartment from Williams (defendant); Williams later evicted Hubert. Hubert and Kelly sued under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, alleging the eviction was motivated by Kelly's sexual orientation and Hubert's association with her. The trial court granted Williams's motion to dismiss, holding the Act didn't cover sexual-orientation-based housing discrimination, and the plaintiffs appealed.
Whether the Unruh Civil Rights Act creates a cause of action for a tenant evicted from an apartment due to being homosexual or having associated with a homosexual.