Is Alfred Rava the Grinch who would steal Mother's Day?
Even as major league baseball players hefted pink bats during games Sunday to draw attention to breast cancer research, the San Diego-based attorney was trying to stop teams from using tote bags and other inexpensive swag to persuade mothers to spend part of their day at the ballpark.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Friday May 19, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 77 words Type of Material: Correction
Baseball promotions: An article in Tuesday's Sports section about the legality of some promotions sponsored by professional baseball teams incorrectly stated that Alfred Rava sued the nonprofit City Ballet of San Diego. The attorney sued Spreckels Theater and Theatrical Enterprises Inc., which own the venue where the ballet performs. The article also said that Rava reached an out-of-court settlement in a discrimination lawsuit involving several San Diego-area bar owners. The settlement was reached during the court proceeding.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday June 03, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 36 words Type of Material: Correction
Baseball promotions: A May 16 article in the Sports section incorrectly stated that attorney Alfred Rava received $125,000 from a settlement to a legal action. The settlement was awarded, but not entirely paid, to several plaintiffs.
The civil lawsuits Rava has filed against the Angels, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics are among more than 40 legal actions he has brought under California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical conditions, marital status and sexual orientation.
In the past, Rava has targeted bars that dangled cheap drinks and cut-rate admission on "ladies nights." He also has sued nonprofit cultural organizations in San Diego that offered discounted tickets to certain demographic groups.
Rava said he first considered suing a baseball team after being denied a "reversible bucket hat" at an A's game on Mother's Day in 2004. "I was shocked that a seemingly sophisticated business in the 21st century would treat customers differently based on their sex," Rava said.
Some attorneys believe that Rava is misusing the Unruh Act by filing nuisance lawsuits and then seeking financial settlements out of court.
Rava insists that isn't the case -- though he acknowledges that the Mother's Day promotions he is contesting in California probably would be legal in states that lack Unruh-type protections.
Though spokesmen for the three franchises and Major League Baseball declined to comment on specifics of the lawsuits, Rava clearly has the league's attention.
After being hit last week with Rava's lawsuit challenging the legality of their 2005 Mother's Day promotion, the Angels agreed to make totes available Sunday to the first 25,000 adult fans, regardless of their gender or whether they had children.
Similarly, after being sued last week for a 2004 Mother's Day promotion, the A's agreed to let men attend a "Baseball 101" program that previously had been marketed exclusively to women.
And the Padres no longer market a women-only baseball clinic after settling a suit filed by Rava last year, said Jeff Overton, the club's executive vice president of business operations.
