CANFIELD TOWNSHIP Lawyer seeks penalty for country club's bias

A Cincinnati lawyer says the club should have taken action by now but hasn't.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A lawyer says Tippecanoe Country Club hasn't taken steps to eliminate gender discrimination despite a court order to do so, and should be sanctioned.
The Canfield Township club's lawyer, however, says the facility is waiting for the outcome of an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Atty. Alphonse A. Gerhardstein of Cincinnati says the club is bound by Ohio law to follow the court order, which was handed down in July by Judge Maureen A. Cronin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
"When a court with proper jurisdiction issues an order, the parties must obey such order until it is reversed through proper proceedings," Gerhardstein wrote in court documents. Failure to do so could result in a finding of civil contempt of court, he wrote.
Contempt motion
Gerhardstein filed a motion asking Judge Cronin to find the club in contempt of court.
Gerhardstein represents four women who sued the club in 1996 and 1997, saying their access to the golf course and other club facilities was tightly restricted while there were no such restrictions on men.
The club has denied the allegations, arguing that it is not a place of public accommodation so should be allowed to create and enforce its own rules without government influence.
The Ohio Civil Rights Commission, a common pleas court magistrate and judge, and the 7th District Court of Appeals have all ruled in favor of the women.
Order issued
In July, Judge Cronin ordered the club to take steps to stop discrimination against women. She ordered the club to amend its membership handbook and code of regulations to reflect the changes and distribute them to members before Oct. 1.
The club has filed an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court, asking it to overturn the lower courts' rulings.
Gerhardstein said in court documents that the club has not made any changes in access to golf facilities and did not meet an Aug. 21 deadline for other tasks, such as assigning shares of stock to wives and widows who were associate members before 1996. That's why he filed the motion to find the club in contempt of court.
Atty. Marshall D. Buck of Youngstown, who represents the Canfield Township country club, could not be reached to comment. But in an Aug. 10 letter to Gerhardstein, Buck said once the process of appealing to the high court is completed, the club will decide what steps, if any, are necessary.
bjackson@vindy.com