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Citation: 427 N.W. 2d 450
SNELL, Justice.
On August 13, 1982, respondent, Cedar Rapids Jaycees, a local organization member of the United States Jaycees, initiated this action by filing a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. The complaint alleged that petitioners, United States Jaycees and Iowa Jaycees, (appellants herein), had violated the Iowa Civil Rights Act by refusing to admit women as regular members. A hearing officer agreed with respondent's contentions and awarded damages. This decision and damages award was adopted by the commission and affirmed in part by the district court on judicial review. Our review is limited to the correction of errors at law, Iowa R.App.P. 4, and is subject to the guidelines of our administrative procedure act, Iowa Code sections 17A.19, .20 (1981).
The United States Jaycees is a tax-exempt Missouri corporation headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There are fifty state organization members, 6300 local organization members, and approximately 263,000 individual members. Each individual member belongs to the Jaycees International, a state organization and a local Jaycees chapter. It is funded primarily through the collection of membership dues and privately-sponsored programs. It receives no federal or state funds.
The Iowa Jaycees is a tax-exempt nonprofit Iowa corporation. It holds state organization membership with the United States Jaycees. The corporation owns a building in Newton, Iowa, which serves as its headquarters and is open to anyone interested in the Jaycees. It is funded privately as is the U.S. Jaycees, and receives no federal or state funds.
The Cedar Rapids Jaycees is a nonprofit tax-exempt Iowa corporation. It holds local organization membership with the state organization, the U.S. Jaycees and the Jaycees International. It is financed as are the U.S. Jaycees and the Iowa Jaycees. It receives no federal or state funds.
The impetus for this action came from a decision in February 1981 by the Cedar Rapids Jaycees to amend their bylaws admitting to full membership "young persons" instead of "young men." Previously, membership in the local, state and U.S. Jaycees was limited to young men between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five. After this amendment was made, five women were admitted to membership. The U.S. and Iowa Jaycees advised that this action was unauthorized and violated the U.S. Jaycees' bylaws. When their discussion came to an impasse, the U.S. Jaycees sued the Cedar Rapids Jaycees in federal court for trademark infringement. From this action an injunction was issued against the Cedar Rapids Jaycees that was in place from March 6, 1984, until October 2, 1984. During this period the Cedar Rapids Jaycees could not use the name "Jaycees" or have the benefit of other identifying insignia.
On August 16, 1984, the U.S. Jaycees amended its bylaws to admit women to full membership. This action followed the upholding by the United States Supreme Court of a Minnesota public accommodation statute as nonviolative of the United States Jaycees' right to freedom of association under the first amendment to the United States Constitution. See Roberts v. United States Jaycees , 468 U.S. 609, 104 S.Ct. 3244, 82 L.Ed.2d 462 (1984).
Thereafter, the U.S. Jaycees filed a motion to dismiss the proceeding before the Iowa Civil Rights Commission that was instituted by the Cedar Rapids Jaycees in 1982. The ground for the motion to dismiss was that further proceedings were rendered moot by the amendment to the bylaws of the U.S. Jaycees. The hearing officer refused to dismiss the action. Ultimately the civil rights commission awarded over $39,000 in damages to the Cedar Rapids Jaycees. These damages included attorney fees of $21,439.68 incurred in the defense of the federal trademark action, $4,531.80 in attorney fees incurred in the commission action, $1000 to each of the five women admitted to membership by the Cedar Rapids Jaycees, $5000 for loss of a potential donation to the Cedar Rapids Jaycees and $5000 punitive damages. On appeal, the district court reversed the punitive damages award, reversed the award for loss of a potential donation, affirmed the award to the women members, and remanded the award for attorney fees indicating that these fees should be allowed in part.
Petitioners allege a number of errors were committed in these proceedings. The first and most basic argument they advance is that the commission, and in turn the district court, erred by concluding that their organizations constituted "public accommodations" within the ambit of our civil rights act. See Iowa Code § 601A.2(10) (1981). Because the statutory protection upon which respondent relies specifically applies only to public accommodations, see Iowa Code § 601A.7 (1981), the commission's jurisdiction over this case exists only if petitioners' organizations constitute public accommodations within the statute. See Good v. Iowa Civil Rights Comm'n , 368 N.W.2d 151, 154 (Iowa 1985).
Our law proscribes unfair or discriminatory practices by an owner, lessee, sublessee, proprietor, manager, or superintendent of any public accommodation. Iowa Code section 601A.7 (1981). "Public accommodation" is defined by statute as follows:
SNELL, Justice.
On August 13, 1982, respondent, Cedar Rapids Jaycees, a local organization member of the United States Jaycees, initiated this action by filing a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. The complaint alleged that petitioners, United States Jaycees and Iowa Jaycees, (appellants herein), had violated the Iowa Civil Rights Act by refusing to admit women as regular members. A hearing officer agreed with respondent's contentions and awarded damages. This decision and damages award was adopted by the commission and affirmed in part by the district court on judicial review. Our review is limited to the correction of errors at law, Iowa R.App.P. 4, and is subject to the guidelines of our administrative procedure act, Iowa Code sections 17A.19, .20 (1981).
The United States Jaycees is a tax-exempt Missouri corporation headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There are fifty state organization members, 6300 local organization members, and approximately 263,000 individual members. Each individual member belongs to the Jaycees International, a state organization and a local Jaycees chapter. It is funded primarily through the collection of membership dues and privately-sponsored programs. It receives no federal or state funds.
The Iowa Jaycees is a tax-exempt nonprofit Iowa corporation. It holds state organization membership with the United States Jaycees. The corporation owns a building in Newton, Iowa, which serves as its headquarters and is open to anyone interested in the Jaycees. It is funded privately as is the U.S. Jaycees, and receives no federal or state funds.
The Cedar Rapids Jaycees is a nonprofit tax-exempt Iowa corporation. It holds local organization membership with the state organization, the U.S. Jaycees and the Jaycees International. It is financed as are the U.S. Jaycees and the Iowa Jaycees. It receives no federal or state funds.
The impetus for this action came from a decision in February 1981 by the Cedar Rapids Jaycees to amend their bylaws admitting to full membership "young persons" instead of "young men." Previously, membership in the local, state and U.S. Jaycees was limited to young men between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five. After this amendment was made, five women were admitted to membership. The U.S. and Iowa Jaycees advised that this action was unauthorized and violated the U.S. Jaycees' bylaws. When their discussion came to an impasse, the U.S. Jaycees sued the Cedar Rapids Jaycees in federal court for trademark infringement. From this action an injunction was issued against the Cedar Rapids Jaycees that was in place from March 6, 1984, until October 2, 1984. During this period the Cedar Rapids Jaycees could not use the name "Jaycees" or have the benefit of other identifying insignia.
On August 16, 1984, the U.S. Jaycees amended its bylaws to admit women to full membership. This action followed the upholding by the United States Supreme Court of a Minnesota public accommodation statute as nonviolative of the United States Jaycees' right to freedom of association under the first amendment to the United States Constitution. See Roberts v. United States Jaycees , 468 U.S. 609, 104 S.Ct. 3244, 82 L.Ed.2d 462 (1984).
Thereafter, the U.S. Jaycees filed a motion to dismiss the proceeding before the Iowa Civil Rights Commission that was instituted by the Cedar Rapids Jaycees in 1982. The ground for the motion to dismiss was that further proceedings were rendered moot by the amendment to the bylaws of the U.S. Jaycees. The hearing officer refused to dismiss the action. Ultimately the civil rights commission awarded over $39,000 in damages to the Cedar Rapids Jaycees. These damages included attorney fees of $21,439.68 incurred in the defense of the federal trademark action, $4,531.80 in attorney fees incurred in the commission action, $1000 to each of the five women admitted to membership by the Cedar Rapids Jaycees, $5000 for loss of a potential donation to the Cedar Rapids Jaycees and $5000 punitive damages. On appeal, the district court reversed the punitive damages award, reversed the award for loss of a potential donation, affirmed the award to the women members, and remanded the award for attorney fees indicating that these fees should be allowed in part.
Petitioners allege a number of errors were committed in these proceedings. The first and most basic argument they advance is that the commission, and in turn the district court, erred by concluding that their organizations constituted "public accommodations" within the ambit of our civil rights act. See Iowa Code § 601A.2(10) (1981). Because the statutory protection upon which respondent relies specifically applies only to public accommodations, see Iowa Code § 601A.7 (1981), the commission's jurisdiction over this case exists only if petitioners' organizations constitute public accommodations within the statute. See Good v. Iowa Civil Rights Comm'n , 368 N.W.2d 151, 154 (Iowa 1985).
Our law proscribes unfair or discriminatory practices by an owner, lessee, sublessee, proprietor, manager, or superintendent of any public accommodation. Iowa Code section 601A.7 (1981). "Public accommodation" is defined by statute as follows:
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