FRESNO, CA — In a 74-page decision from the California Fifth Appellate District Court here last week, the court ruled in favor of a same-sex couple from Bakersfield, CA, after the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) stepped in.
“The court order in Civil Rights Department v. Cathy’s Creations, Inc. makes it clear that all Californians are entitled to full and equal access to businesses regardless of their sexual orientation,” reported the CRD.
“This decision upholds the longstanding principle guaranteeing all Californians full and equal access to services and goods in the marketplace,” said CRD Director Kevin Kish. “I commend Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez-Del Rio for their commitment to this core civil right.”
The CRD first filed a lawsuit in Oct. 2023 on behalf of lesbian couple Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez-Del Rio, who were denied a “plain, multi-purpose white cake” for their wedding by Bakersfield bakery “Tastries” in 2017, according to a statement from CRD.
“Under the Unruh Civil Rights Act,” cited CDR, “businesses — like bakeries, restaurants, hospitals, and retail stores — are required to offer full and equal access to goods and services without discriminating against people based on protected characteristics including sexual orientation.”
After investigating the filed complaint, CRD found grounds to sue Tastries on the basis of violation of the law, according to the case background.
However, while the case background further detailed the trial court ruled in favor of the bakery in late 2022, CRD appealed the trial court’s decision to the Fifth Appellate District.
“It reinforces a caste system where certain individuals are treated as less deserving of products and services on the open market based on protected characteristics,” wrote Acting Presiding Justice Jennifer R.S. Detjen, agreeing with CRD’s base argument.
“California has a compelling interest in ensuring full and equal access to goods and services irrespective of sexual orientation… and there are no less restrictive means for the state to achieve this goal,” Detjen added.
Detjen noted Tastries’ refusal of service “to provide the Rodriguez-Del Rios the predesigned, multi-purpose white cake requested was not protected expression under the federal Constitution’s free speech guarantee.”
Ultimately, according to the decision’s conclusion, “professing deep and sincerely held religious beliefs like those held by defendants” could “substantially” frustrate and “undercut” the state’s goals by means of “referral exception or a general exception for religious objectors.”
“No matter who you love, where you come from, or who you are, you are protected against discrimination,” CDR Director Kish emphasized.
CDR reports the appellate court’s decision will vacate the trial court’s order and remand the case for “further proceedings consistent with the court’s opinion, ensuring the state’s robust protections under the Unruh Civil Rights Act remain in effect.”
The department has also provided resources: complaint process; general information and online factsheets; and additional information on civil rights at businesses.
