New York State Club Association, Inc. v. City of New York

Summary

The Court, in an opinion by Justice White, affirmed the rejection of a facial challenge to New York City's law extending antidiscrimination requirements to certain large private clubs. The consortium had associational standing because its member clubs could sue on behalf of their individual members. The law was neither unconstitutional in every application nor shown to be substantially overbroad, and its exemptions for benevolent orders and religious corporations survived rational-basis review. Justice O'Connor, joined by Justice Kennedy, emphasized that particular clubs retain constitutional associational protections and may raise as-applied challenges. Justice Scalia joined all but Part IV and concurred in the judgment, explaining that the benevolent-order exemption was rational because it largely identified lodges and fraternal organizations unlikely to contribute significantly to the business discrimination addressed by the law, not merely because those organizations were unique.