Lesbian couple claims bias in refusal of vacation rental

Two Los Angeles women filed a discrimination lawsuit Monday against a Hawaii Kai bed-and-breakfast, saying its owner refused to rent them a room because they are a lesbian couple.

Plaintiffs Diane Cervelli and Taeko Bufford said the owner of Aloha Bed & Breakfast, Phyllis Young, told them they could not reserve a room during their 2007 vacation because she would be uncomfortable with having lesbians in her house.

"We want to make clear that lesbian and gay people have the exact same rights to access places open to the public," Peter Renn, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney, said Monday at a news conference outside Circuit Court.

Young, reached by phone Monday, referred questions to her lawyer, Jim Hochberg. Hochberg said he had not yet seen or read the complaint and could not comment.

"At this point all I know is that there is a complaint out there, and I will be defending it with the Alliance Defense Fund," Hochberg said. The Alliance Defense Fund provides resources for the legal defense of religious freedom.

According to the lawsuit, Cervelli called Aloha Bed & Breakfast on Nov. 5, 2007, to reserve a room. Upon hearing the name of the person who would be staying with Cervelli, Young asked whether Cervelli and Bufford are lesbians.

Cervelli answered yes. Young responded by telling her they were not welcome at her rental, the lawsuit says.

"I was not only was stunned, but extremely hurt," Cervelli said Monday. "I’ve never had anything remotely close to that being said to me."

Cervelli and Bufford were planning a trip to Hawaii to spend time with a close friend and her newborn baby, Cervelli said.

According to the lawsuit, Bufford called Young later in the day, and Young still refused to rent them a room, citing her religious beliefs, eventually hanging up on Bufford.

Under Hawaii’s public accommodation law, it is illegal for any commercial business that sells or makes goods, services or accommodations available to the public — such as a store, restaurant or lodging — to deny people access to those goods or services based on race, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, skin color, religion, ancestry or disability.

"No business owner is above the law," said Renn, a staff attorney for Lambda Legal, the nation’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to defending the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people with HIV. "You can’t pick and choose laws you want to follow and discard everything else."

As a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit, the couple first filed a complaint with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission.

The commission concluded its formal investigation in March 2010 and determined there was reasonable cause to believe unlawful discrimination had occurred.

The lawsuit reports that Young told the commission during its investigation that she believes homosexuality is "detestable" and that it "defiles our land."

William Hoshijo, executive director of the Civil Rights Commission, said sexual orientation discrimination in public accommodation cases are not filed often in Hawaii. None was filed in 2011.

"(But) a lot of times with the visitor industry … (visitors) would tend not to file a complaint because they’re not around," Hoshijo said. "In this case, I think Ms. Cervelli and Ms. Bufford were really impacted strongly about it, so they persevered and made the effort to file a complaint and follow up."

A mandatory settlement process after the commission’s investigation failed, and Cervelli and Bufford received notice of their right to sue on Nov. 21.

With the approval of the commission, Hoshijo made a motion Monday to intervene in the case because he said it is of general importance. If the court grants the motion, Hoshijo will work with the Lambda Legal team.

"Our focus will be more narrowly drawn," Hoshijo said. "We’re going to be focusing on the public interest in ending this kind of discrimination."