SANTA ANA : Jazz Club’s Lawsuit Calls Landlord Racist
The owners of a trendy jazz club claim in a civil-rights lawsuit that they are being harassed and discriminated against by their landlord because their club attracts many African-Americans.
Randell Young, co-owner of Randell’s, located on Hutton Centre Drive in Santa Ana, said he filed a lawsuit Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court after months of enduring harassment from Nansay USA, based in Santa Monica.
Eric Yokeno, the owner of Nansay USA and Randell’s landlord, declined to comment Tuesday.
“The harassment is undoubtedly due to racism,” said Young. “What’s so ridiculous is that our clients are very affluent, very sophisticated--they’re exactly the kind of clients you would want.”
Young claims that Yokeno in the past has warned Young that his clientele might hurt business in the area. Young said that when he objected to such comments Yokeno began trying to harm his business.
The harassment included removing the business’s name from a directory in the lobby and setting up scaffolding outside the front door on a Friday night, Young said.
Young said he did not file the suit hoping for a big settlement.
“We’re not looking to get money out of this,” he said. “We just want to be left alone.”
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