Like A Bad Penny

It is back again, the law suit about a trans woman in the locker room; you thought the case was over but the Planet Fitness case has been thrown back to the lower court.

Appeal revived in lawsuit over transgender at health club
WNEM
Posted: Apr 11, 2018

MIDLAND, MI (AP) -
The Michigan appeals court has been ordered to take a second look at a lawsuit filed by a woman who said her rights were violated after she encountered a transgender person in the locker room at a Midland health club.

The state Supreme Court says the appeals court erred in declining to consider Yvette Cormier's claims under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act.

You might remember this case from 2015 when a woman claimed she was discriminated against because she objected to having a trans woman in the locker room.

MLive wrote…

Cormier's lawsuit claims invasion of privacy, multiple violations of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, exemplary damages and a violation of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. The hearing Friday sought to decide if those claims are valid, following the recent filing of motions for summary disposition by both defendants, who claim all nine parts of the lawsuit are invalid and should be dismissed.

The judge rejected all the plaintiff’s claims.

There was some discussion if this case was a set-up, ThinkProgress reported that…

Cormier’s representation by Kallman Legal Group is likely not a coincidence. David and Stephen Kallman, a father and son team, already have a reputation for opposing LGBT equality in Michigan. In October of 2013, they submitted a legal memo challenging proposed LGBT nondiscrimination protections in Delta Township, claiming that the ordinance would violate others’ religious freedom. The memo compared homosexuality to extramarital sex, polygamy, pedophilia, serial killer rapists, necrophilia, bestiality, and incest and suggested that because gender identity is “internal to the person,” someone accused of discrimination would be required to be a “mind-reader” not to discriminate. Their suit against Planet Fitness for respecting how individuals self-identify their gender seems to disprove this last concern.

So like a bad penny always turns up, the case is back in court again.

Other blog posting about the case, here, here, here, and here, and about the set-up here.