A reproductive health care facility that attempted to open in Beverly Hills in 2023 filed a lawsuit against the city on April 23 in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking damages for civil rights violations.
This is the second lawsuit filed by DuPont Clinic, PC (“DuPont”) against Beverly Hills.
DuPont, which provides a slate of health care services including abortion up to 32 weeks and six days, was scheduled to open at 8920 Wilshire Blvd. in October 2023. The clinic initially signed a lease with landlord Douglas Emmett in September 2022.
The arrangement was soon met with opposition. A Los Angeles chapter of an anti-abortion group that calls itself Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust launched protests at the Wilshire Boulevard location and, in April 2023, began attending City Council meetings to urge officials to deny DuPont the permits it needed to operate.
In June 2023, the clinic received a letter from Douglas Emmett stating that the lease was being canceled. The letter accused DuPont of failing to notify the landlord that “the primary focus of tenant’s practice would be providing abortions for abnormal and high-risk pregnancies including what are commonly referred to as late-term abortions.”
In August 2023, the clinic filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Douglas Emmett alleging that their lease was improperly terminated. That complaint was followed by a Superior Court complaint against the city of Beverly Hills and various city officials in October 2023, alleging that the city bowed to political pressure and colluded with the landlord to ensure that the clinic would not open.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose office opened an investigation into the matter, held a news conference in October 2024 in which he accused Beverly Hills officials of “delaying the permitting process and then launching a pressure campaign against the landlord until the landlord rescinded its lease with the tenant.”
An agreement was later reached between the Attorney General’s office and the city.
In December 2024, the Superior Court granted the city’s anti-SLAPP motion, striking most of the city’s conduct from DuPont’s claim with the exception of the allegation of unduly withholding permits. DuPont appealed the motion, and the appeal is pending.
Beverly Hills is currently seeking approximately $400,000 in attorney’s fees from DuPont in the first Superior Court lawsuit, and a hearing is scheduled for June 5.
In their new complaint, DuPont alleges, among other things, that the city played a role in its lease cancellation by delaying the clinic’s building permits and conducting a “hostile pressure campaign … under the guise of public safety leading to the termination of DuPont’s Lease.”
In a statement provided to the Courier, DuPont noted, “Just like any other lawful business, DuPont had the right to freedom from government interference in its operations. The city made a deliberate choice and formed a specific plan to prevent DuPont from opening its reproductive health clinic, in violation of DuPont’s constitutional rights.”
Beverly Hills City Attorney Laurence Wiener, in a statement, called the new lawsuit from DuPont “disappointing.”
“As the city has consistently stated, it vigorously supports a woman’s right to choose,” the statement added. “The city will, once again, respond to the allegations in the lawsuit, which are based on the same set of facts as the previous lawsuit.”
The new lawsuit seeks damages on causes of action that include violations of the Due Process Clause and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
