Source: All England Reporter
Publisher Citation: [2012] All ER (D) 73 (Feb)
Neutral Citation: [2012] EWCA Civ 83
Court: Court of Appeal, Civil Division
Judge:

Sir Andrew Morritt C, Hooper and Rafferty LJJ
Representation Robin Allen QC and Catherine Casserley (instructed by Equality and Human Rights Commission) for the claimants.
  James Dingemans QC and Sarah Crowther (instructed by Aughton Ainsworth) for the defendants.
Judgment Dates: 10 February 2012

Catchwords

Sex discrimination - Discrimination - Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation - Defendants running hotel - Defendants having strong religious beliefs - Defendants having policy of not letting double-bedded rooms to unarried couples, whether homosexual or heterosexual - Claimants making hotel booking with defendants - Defendants refusing to honour booking because of policy - Claimants bring claim for damages for discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation - Judge finding defendants having directed discriminated against claimants - Defendants appealing - Whether judge erring - Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007, - European Convention on Human Rights, arts 9, 14.

The Case

Sex discrimination Discrimination. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in dismissing the defendant hoteliers' appeal against the judge's decision that their policy of refusing to let double-bedded rooms to unmarried heterosexual couples or homosexual couples was directly discriminatory against homosexuals, held that the finding of direct discrimination was utterly sound, and that the defendants' rights to manifest their religion was limited by the claimants' right to freedom from discrimination on grounds of their sexual orientation.

Practice Areas

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