## Facts

- William R. Hubert, a quadriplegic, leased an apartment from landlord James L. Williams and required a 24-hour attendant.
- Hubert hired Cindy Kelly as his attendant.
- Williams evicted Hubert and Kelly from the apartment.
- Hubert and Kelly alleged the eviction occurred because Kelly was homosexual and because Hubert associated with a person of homosexual orientation.
- Plaintiffs sued under the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 51, 52), claiming unlawful discrimination by a business establishment (rental housing).

## Issues

1. Whether homosexual tenants in rental housing are protected from discrimination under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, even though sexual orientation was not expressly listed in the statute at the time.
2. Whether a landlord’s eviction of a tenant based solely on the tenant’s homosexuality, or association with a homosexual, states a cause of action under the Unruh Act.

## Decision

- The appellate department reversed the dismissal entered after the trial court sustained the landlord’s demurrer.
- The court held that homosexual tenants are within the Unruh Act’s protections.
- The court concluded that, under the Unruh Act, landlords may not refuse to rent to (or act against) a person solely because of that person’s sexual preference.
- Because the complaint alleged eviction based on sexual orientation and association, it stated a claim under the Unruh Act.

## Legal Principles

- The Unruh Civil Rights Act applies to “business establishments,” a term construed to include rental housing and landlords.
- The Unruh Act prohibits arbitrary discrimination by covered business establishments, including forms of discrimination not expressly enumerated in the statutory text.
- Discrimination in renting or continued occupancy based solely on sexual orientation constitutes arbitrary discrimination prohibited by the Unruh Act.

## Conclusion

The court held that rental housing falls within the Unruh Civil Rights Act and that the Act prohibits a landlord from evicting or refusing to rent to a tenant solely because the tenant (or an associated person) is homosexual; thus, the complaint stated a viable Unruh Act claim and the demurrer-based dismissal was reversed.


Hubert v. Williams, 184 Cal. Rptr. 161 (App. Dep’t Super. Ct. L.A. Cty. 1982)