Latest news with #Tastries
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Court rules against antigay bakery in California
An appeals court in California ruled a Kern County baker violated the rights of a gay couple when she refused on religious grounds to bake a cake for their wedding, Cal Matters reports. The case started in August of 2017 when Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez-Del Rio visited Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield to purchase a cake for the upcoming wedding. According to court documents, the couple were helped by staff and chose a pre-designed cake with 'three tiers with white buttercream frosting without any writing, symbols, engravings, images or toppers.' Staff told the couple it was a popular choice for 'birthdays, baby showers, weddings, and quinceaneras,' but then refused to sell the prepare or sell the cake when they learned it was for their same-sex wedding. California's Civil Rights Division filed suit against Tastries and its owner, Catharine Miller, in 2018. Tastries Bakery has 18 employees and is owned by Catharine Miller, a devout Christian. The case rests in large measure on whether the cake in question is a generic item or a custom creation. The state and the Rodriguez-Del Rios claim that it is generic, while Tastries considers the cake to be a custom creation. Tastries 'sells a variety of baked goods, which are available daily in a display case and can be purchased by anyone without restriction.' The display case can also accommodate 'single-tiered cakes that are meant for last-minute purchasing.' All other cakes, including the generic three-tiered cake ordered by the Rodriguez-Del Rios, must be pre-ordered. 'Tastries's policy is that all preordered baked goods are considered 'custom,' regardless of the type of product or its design specifications. If a customer wants a cake identical to one in the daily display case, but wants the cake prepared for a specific date, it is considered by Tastries to be a 'custom' cake.' A lower court agreed with Miller and Tastries, noting Miller referred the couple to another bakery that would meet their request and that the couple were able to find a similar cake for their wedding. The ruling issued this week found the lower court erred and sided with the state and the Rodriguez-Del Rios. 'Application of the policy here pivots upon the sexual orientation of the end user – the policy cannot apply or operate until the same-sex status of the couple is identified. Despite that the underlying rationale for the policy is rooted in a sincerely held religious belief about marriage, held in good faith without ill will or malice, the policy nonetheless requires a distinction in service that is based solely on, and because of, the end users' sexual orientation. The relevant and undisputed facts about the policy and its application here necessarily establish intentional discrimination.' Miller's attorneys at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty told Cal Matters they will appeal the ruling and take their fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Years-long Tastries Bakery lawsuit set to take even longer, as initial ruling reversed
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The long-running Tastries Bakery case is about to get longer. A state appeals court on Tuesday reversed a local judge's 2022 ruling, and another appeal is now headed to the California Supreme Court. The three-judge panel in the appeals court unanimously ruled Tastries refusing to sell that wedding cake was 'intentional discrimination.' Cathy Miller, owner of Tastries Bakery off Rosedale Highway, told 17 News it's business as usual, despite the years-long legal battle. When you make your way inside the small shop, you're hit with the sweet smell of cakes, cookies and cherry turnovers. And amid the timely red and pink Valentine's Day decor are proud displays of Miller's Christian faith — from a nativity scene, to crosses and signs on the wall, to Bibles for kids, to gospel music adding to the mellow ambiance. There are even decorative cookies in the shapes of crosses, as well as those that read 'Jesus loves you.' Miller was sued in 2017 by Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez-Del Rio — a lesbian couple — after refusing to provide a wedding cake for religious reasons. 'It's why is she doing it [that matters], and she's doing it because it's an act of conscience,' said Eric Rassbach with The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, one of the attorneys for Miller and Tastries. In 2022, Kern County Judge Eric Bradshaw ruled in favor of Miller, saying she cannot be forced to bake wedding cakes for same-sex couples, since baking a cake is expressive speech protected by the First Amendment. But a state appeals court on Tuesday reversed the ruling. Miller — who said should speak on-camera Wednesday — told 17 News she's very disappointed and saddened by the reversal. 'I can't have pork because I'm Muslim, or because I'm Jewish, I have to abstain from that, that's what my client is trying to do here,' said Rassbach. 'And that's very different than oh, I don't like a particular group of people, and I'm going to treat them poorly.' In a statement, the California Civil Rights Department — representing the plaintiffs — said, 'This decision upholds the longstanding principle guaranteeing all Californians full and equal access to services and goods in the marketplace. I commend Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez-Del Rio for their commitment to this core civil right. No matter who you love, where you come from, or who you are, you are protected against discrimination.' 17 News reached out to the Rodriguez-Del Rios for comment but have not heard back for this story. The appeals court said Miller's action violated state law — the Unruh Civil Rights Act — which states all people, regardless of factors like sexual orientation, age, ancestry, color and disability must get equal services at all businesses. The justices ruled that just because Miller had no malice or ill will in refusing service does not prove there was no intentional discrimination. Despite the intention — religious belief — there was still disparate treatment in service based on sexual orientation. Furthermore, the appeals court also stated that First Amendment protections of free speech and expression don't apply in this case. The Rodriguez-Del Rios and State of California say they wanted a plain, white cake with three tiers — which they say is a routine commercial product sold by Tastries for various events, not just weddings. Miller counters that all of her baked goods require customization, and thus, her free speech and expression. The appeals court ruled that because the cake was not an original, custom, creation, First Amendment protections are not applicable. Rassbach told 17 News they will be appealing the case to the California Supreme Court. Should the state not take on the case, he said, Tastries will be seeking relief from the United States Supreme Court, since the First Amendment is involved. '[This is] one of these culture war cases where the state of California sort of picked a fight with this baker and has been prosecuting her for seven years now,' Rassbach said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tastries decision reversed on appeal
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A state appeals court on Tuesday reversed a Kern County judge's ruling in the long-running Tastries case — finding the bakery's refusal to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple established 'intentional discrimination.' It doesn't matter that Tastries' owner Cathy Miller referred the couple to another bakery, the appeals court said. If that's all it took to satisfy the state's Unruh Civil Rights Act — which says all people, regardless of sexual orientation, must be given equal services at all businesses — 'business establishments would be free to refuse service to anyone on account of protected characteristics so long as they told those customers there was another comparable business in existence confirmed to have no objection to providing service,' court said. The court also rejected the argument that the creation of the cake was protected free speech. 'A three-tiered, plain white cake with no writing, engravings, adornments, symbols or images is not pure speech,' the court said. The case has been remanded to Kern County. It's unclear when the next hearing will take place — or if further appeals will follow. In 2017, Miller, owner of Tastries Bakery, refused to bake a wedding cake for Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez-Del Rio after learning their sexual orientation. She was sued. State attorneys argued at trial she discriminated against the couple, while Miller's attorneys with the Thomas More Society said she's a devout Christian who believes baking a wedding cake for a same-sex couple would violate her religious beliefs. Miller's attorneys also argued the creation of a wedding cake is a form of artistic expression, and as such is protected speech under the First Amendment. They said she can't be compelled to create a work of art against her will. Judge Eric Bradshaw ruled in her favor, finding her 'pure and expressive speech is entitled to protection under the First Amendment' and the baking of a Tastries wedding cake is 'labor-intensive' and 'artistic.' The state appealed. Arguments were heard in December, after which the court began preparing its decision. Of Miller's refusal to make a cake for a same-sex couple due to religious beliefs, the court said the following: 'Despite that the underlying rationale for the policy is rooted in a sincerely held religious belief about marriage, held in good faith without ill will or malice, the policy nonetheless requires a distinction in service that is based solely on, and because of, the end users' sexual orientation. The relevant and undisputed facts about the policy and its application here necessarily establish intentional discrimination.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
