Nevada Brothel Seeks to Nix Ruling Bias Law Covers Prostitutes

Nevada’s Chicken Ranch wants the Ninth Circuit to review and dismiss claims by two of its prostitutes who allege it violated federal job bias law by harassing and otherwise discriminating and retaliating against them and their co-workers because they are Black, federal court records show.

The question of whether the brothel, which is legal only in Nevada, is an “employer” covered by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act is “an issue of first impression,” the brothel says in its motion seeking immediate appeal of a lower court’s denial of its motion to dismiss its workers would-be class claims.

Western Best LLC, which does business as the Chicken Ranch, operates about 60 miles west of Las Vegas.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada mistakenly found the “uniquely Nevada enterprise” falls under Title VII because it supplies its prostitutes with towels, clothing, cleaning supplies, and similar goods that travel in interstate commerce, the brothel says. That ignored its primary purpose, “the facilitation of the sale of sex,” which occurs “entirely intrastate,” it says.

Like all of its “courtesans,” the Black women who sued it under Title VII, state anti-bias law, and various other laws, are independent contractors, not Title VII-covered employees, the motion says.

Kizzy Byars and Danielle James, the two Black women who filed the proposed class action in September 2019, say the brothel is liable to them and others under Title VII for the race-based mistreatment they’ve experienced, which includes rampant use of the N-word.

Judge James C. Mahan’s May 29 ruling that Byars and James’s suit adequately alleges a basis for Title VII liability meets the three criteria generally required for an appeal to be allowed while a case is still pending at the trial court level and before a final judgment is entered, the brothel says in its motion.

The issue presents a purely legal question, substantial grounds exist for disagreement on how the question should be answered, and resolution of the novel issue by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit could materially advance the litigation and affect its ultimate outcome, it argues.

The Chicken Ranch also seeks to stay the case pending the appeal if immediate review is allowed.

Ryan Alexander represents the proposed class. Fox Rothschild LLP represents the brothel.

The case is Byars v. Western Best LLC, D. Nev., No. 2:19-cv-01690, motion for interlocutory appeal 6/23/20.