Macedonia Church v. Lancaster Hotel

Facts

Members of the Macedonia Church (plaintiffs) wished to reserve lodging at the Lancaster Host Resort and Conference Center for a church retreat. Those in charge of organizing the retreat met with a sales representative for the hotel, who later sent a summary of the proposed dates, rooms, and prices. The parties dispute whether this was a proposed contract. Later, the representative informed the plaintiffs that the 40 requested rooms were not available, due to a booking error. The reservations were never honored, and the plaintiffs had to find different accomodations at an Inn with less amenities and drug, prostitution, and violent activity in the area. The plaintiffs sued the hotel owners, Lancaster Hotel Limited Partnership, MASSPA Realty Corporation, and Fine Hotels Corp. (defendants), for discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. The defendants argued that the plaintiffs did not have standing to bring the lawsuit because it was the Church, and not the individual members, who entered into the contract with the Hotel.