Billionaire’s son accuses private club of bias

The elite Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles, founded in 1920 as a club for Jews who were excluded from other clubs, is accused of longstanding discrimination in its admission practices in a new lawsuit by the son of billionaire investor Gary Winnick. The elite Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles, founded in 1920 as a club for Jews who were excluded from other clubs, is accused of longstanding discrimination in its admission practices in a lawsuit filed by the son of billionaire investor Gary Winnick.

The lawsuit filed on Monday on behalf of Matthew Winnick alleges a culture of segregation and exclusion at the club, and claims that the plaintiff's full membership was denied due to complaints he made of discriminatory treatment due to his marriage to a Hispanic woman during several years when he was an intermediate member.

"Hillcrest has always been a discriminatory club and will continue to be a discriminatory club so long as it continues to indulge its leadership's racial tendencies," the complaint reads. "Its leaders have and will continue to promote their own undeserving children for membership at the expense of racially mixed families and the ideals of diversity, equity and inclusion. This complaint is not merely a legal action; it is a moral reckoning. It demands a transformative response, challenging the club to face its discriminatory practices head-on."

The complaint was filed by Matthew Winnick's brother, Alexander H. Winnick, and co-counsel Anthony W. Trujillo, both from Trujillo & Winnick LLP in Santa Monica.

"Hillcrest bylaws, in the very first paragraph, state the club is an exclusively private club," Alexander Winnick said in a phone call on Thursday. "I do not think that them calling themselves that was a mistake. I think that they did that on purpose so that they can consider themselves private and therefore allowed to discriminate. We are saying in our lawsuit that that is wrong, and that they are not a private club, and they're not allowed to discriminate."

A representative for Hillcrest referred requests for comment to Daniel Clivner of Sidley Austin LLP in Los Angeles. Clivner did not respond to emailed and phoned requests for comment by press time on Thursday.

In an email on Thursday, Hillcrest Country Club said, "The lawsuit is completely without merit and Hillcrest will vigorously defend against the false claims."

The lawsuit claims that Matthew Winnick was an "intermediate member" of the club when he applied for full membership in February 2023. While he awaited approval, he attended a birthday party at the club where its president, co-defendant Jason Kaplan, singled him out and shouted across a table, "callate" - Spanish for "shut up," as the complaint notes. When approached later by the plaintiff, Kaplan asked him, "You want to mess with me?," the complaint says. Matthew Winnick v. Hillcrest Country Club et al., 24STCV06058 (L.A. Sup. Ct., filed March 11, 2024).

This alleged incident, as well as delays with his membership application, prompted Winnick to send a letter to the club's membership director citing concerns of racial discrimination.

"Plaintiff expressed that he believed his Hillcrest experience had been different than other members who were not married to someone of Hispanic descent," the complaint said.

Shortly thereafter, the club terminated Winnick's application without explanation, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit cites Los Angeles Municipal Code, Article 5.9, which states that a country club is not distinctly private, and therefore cannot deny membership, if it has 400 or more members, provides regular meal service and accepts payment from nonmembers. The complaint claims that Hillcrest meets all three of these criteria.

"Hillcrest positions itself to claim that they are not subject to this law, that they are a private club and therefore are allowed to discriminate against people, which we think is incorrect," Alexander Winnick said in an interview Thursday.

"Hillcrest positions itself to claim that they are not subject to this law, that they are a private club and therefore are allowed to discriminate against people, which we think is incorrect," Alexander Winnick said.

Hillcrest requires that applicants perform 100 hours of community service per year, contribute at least 5% of their available cash flow each year to charity and adhere to standards of what it describes as "social acceptability," according to the complaint.

The complaint called the third requirement "non-quantifiable and inherently subjective."

"Hillcrest has on multiple occasions attempted to define the meaning of social acceptability for the purposes of membership, stating: 'Candor, honesty and personal integrity are an integral part of social acceptability.'" the complaint said. "Hillcrest further explains that its test for social acceptability 'addresses one's stature in the community, agreeability, reputation for ethics and responsible business dealings and measured temper.'"

"Prior to his termination, they never complained to him that he was not satisfying his requirements, and with other people who have gone through the process, if they're not satisfying any of the requirements, the club meets with them, they talk to them and they tell them how they can do so," Alexander Winnick said.

The complaint further claims that co-defendants Kaplan, former club President Michael Flesch and Membership Committee Chair Brad Fuller themselves fail to live up to the club's standards of social acceptability.

"Under the current leadership, the stated requirements for membership are, in fact, a sham," Alexander Winnick said. "In reality, rather than being socially acceptable, you need to be acceptable to Michael Flesch, Jason Kaplan, and Brad Fuller."