A pair of men’s right activists who earlier this year filed a lawsuit against Palo Alto’s municipal golf course over its women’s clinic have dropped their legal challenge, court records indicate.
Steve Frye and George St. George, who have a track record of suing bars, restaurants, hotels and other establishments that hold events for women, filed a lawsuit against Baylands Golf Links and its contractors in April alleging discrimination. They invoked the Unruh Civil Rights of 1959, which prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, religion or disability, in claiming that the city’s “Ladies Golf Clinic” constitutes discrimination.
The pair argued in their suit that they had contacted the golf course in November 2023 to ask if the clinic is open to men and were told that it’s only for women. They also claimed that an employee reiterated this to them when they came to the golf course in December.
“To treat consumers unequally based on their gender such as Defendants have done with their discriminatory Events is as repugnant and unlawful as businesses engaging in the same discrimination based on race, religion, or sexual orientation,” the claim stated.
The city strongly disputed these allegations and argued in its response that the plaintiffs don’t have the standing to sue; that they had failed to sufficiently make their case for a cause of action; and that their action is barred by statutes of limitations. The city also claimed that they “lack standing insofar as they were not denied full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges or services by defendants.”
The city’s attorneys, Benjamin Schnayerson and Diana Han, had requested that the case be dismissed and that Frye and St. George be denied all demands for relief. The two had sought $4,000 for every instance of discrimination.
The city also requested that the plaintiffs bear all the costs of the suit, including attorneys’ fees.
Last week, the case was officially tossed after Greg Adler, attorney for Frye and St. George, requested that the courts dismiss it “with prejudice,” which means it cannot be permanently brought back to court. The filing did not indicate why Frye and St. George are dropping the case.
According to various publications, Frye has a long history of litigation, including a 2010 lawsuit against Donald Trump’s golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes for offering a 25% discount to women in recognition of breast cancer awareness month. The Los Angeles Times reported that the suit was tossed by the judge before it could go to trial.
The Orange County Register reported in 2014 that he had filed more than 40 suits against Orange County establishments that provide discounts to women.
More recently, Frye and St. George had sued a hotel in Visalia in 2021 for hosting a karaoke night for women, according to the newspaper Valley Voice.