"Hotelier loses discrimination suit:" ASSOCIATED PRESS, August 17, 2012
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A Muslim hotel owner discriminated against a
Jewish group during a Southern California poolside charity event by
ordering removal of banners and ousting them from the pool and spa, a
jury decided in awarding $1.2 million statutory damages.
The suit was filed by Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, whose
members had gathered two years ago at the ocean-view Hotel Shangri-LA,
owned by Tehmina Adaya, a Muslim of Pakistani descent.
In her testimony, Adaya denied an allegation she had ordered a halt
to the event for fear that her family would cut off her financing.
Former employee Nathan Codrey testified in a deposition that Adaya used profanity as she halted the event.
‘‘If my [family finds] out there’s a Jewish event here, they’re going
to pull money from me immediately,’’ Codrey quoted her as saying.
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