A Washington D.C.-based health care clinic that performs abortions has filed a lawsuit against Beverly Hills, accusing city officials of colluding with a landlord to prevent them from opening a location there.
Beverly Hills Mayor Julian Gold, City Manager Nancy Hunt-Coffey, Deputy City Manager Keith Sterling, City Attorney Laurence Wiener and Chief of Police Mark Stainbrook are all named in the lawsuit filed last week by DuPont Clinic.
The clinic was set to open on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills and had signed a lease with Douglas Emmett Inc. But the lawsuit alleges the city and the landlord colluded to rescind the lease after caving to pressure from anti-abortion protesters, despite “the right to abortion enshrined in the California Constitution.”
The city of Beverly Hills did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.
In September 2022, the lawsuit states that DuPont entered into a lease agreement with Douglas Emmett, and a month later began discussions with the city about the clinic.
“The City expressly confirmed to DuPont that the City approved of DuPont’s intended use of the Premises, and DuPont began planning the construction of its clinic,” the lawsuit states.
According to Jessica Corpuz, an attorney for DuPont Clinic, the city and landlord were aware of the services the clinic planned to provide.
However, Corpuz added, everything changed when a group of anti-abortion protesters got wind of the intended use of the clinic.
“That’s really when the city got involved to an extent that they had not been prior,” she said.
First, the lawsuit alleges, the city held up permits.
Wiener, the city attorney, then asked the clinic to sign a letter stating that they will not violate any California laws, according to the lawsuit.
“That…
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