The building where a clinic was proposed has been the site of repeated protests. (photo by Joey Waldinger)

A lawsuit filed by attorneys for reproductive health facility DuPont Clinic alleges that Douglas Emmett, a commercial real estate company headquartered in Santa Monica, colluded with Beverly Hills officials to delay the opening and ultimately rescind the lease for a proposed clinic at 8920 Wilshire Blvd.

The lawsuit lists 10 causes of action against Douglas Emmett, including breach of contract, negligent interference with prospective economic relations and negligent misrepresentation.

According to the complaint, filed Aug. 14 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Douglas Emmett entered into the lease in September 2022, fully aware of DuPont’s array of services, which include abortions.

Based in Washington, D.C., DuPont chose to open a new location in Beverly Hills because of the city’s public stance on women’s reproductive rights, according to the complaint.

Based on the city’s position, DuPont signed a lease in September 2022 for a space at the Wilshire Boulevard location, with plans to open the following October.

However, according to the complaint, Douglas Emmett and the city worked to stymie the clinic’s opening, until Douglas Emmett sent the clinic a June 12 letter “purporting to rescind the lease.”    The lease does not allow Douglas Emmett to issue a rescission letter, and the “letter did not properly rescind the lease – it simply sets forth Douglas Emmett’s improper grounds for breaching the lease,” according to the complaint.

The complaint also alleges that Beverly Hills Mayor Julian Gold and City Manager Nancy Hunt-Coffey were copied on the rescission letter.

“Providing such a letter to any city government is extremely abnormal in routine landlord-tenant matters. There was no reason, whatsoever, for Douglas Emmett to inform the city of its decision, except to notify the city that it had done what the city instructed it to do,” the complaint states.

DuPont attorneys claim that the city conspired with anti-abortion activists to block the clinic from opening, bowing to pressure from groups that spent months protesting at City Council meetings and in front of the building.

In a 181-page complaint against Douglas Emmett, DuPont attorneys allege that city officials delayed the clinic’s permits, pressured Douglas Emmett into rescinding the lease and brokered agreements at secret meetings with the activists, even after the lease was rescinded.

The lawsuit lists Douglas Emmett as the defendant, but DuPont plans to sue the city as well, according to an online statement.

“The hypocrisy of Beverly Hills is astounding – a city that issued a proclamation and lit up City Hall in pink in support of abortion rights following the fall of Roe, yet allows an abortion clinic to be blocked from opening,” the statement read. “We cannot allow anti-abortion extremism to stand in this country, and we will not let elected officials remain complicit. The DuPont Clinic is taking Douglas Emmet to court and putting the city of Beverly Hills on notice that we will be suing.”

In a statement, a DuPont spokesperson said the clinic sent the city a letter indicating its intent to file on Aug. 14, and the city has 45 days to respond to the letter.

Mayor Julian Gold could not be reached for comment, but in an email, Deputy City Manager Keith Sterling said the city had diligently reviewed the permits to ensure they complied with state law, and denied that the city had any role in Douglas Emmett’s decision.

According to Sterling, the permits were issued, and officials anticipated the clinic would open later this year.

“However, the city received correspondence on June 12 from the attorney [for Douglas Emmett] notifying us that DuPont Clinic would no longer be taking occupancy and the lease had been rescinded,” he said. “The city of Beverly Hills has a clear record of supporting a woman’s right to choose.”

Representatives for Douglas Emmett declined to comment.

“Douglas Emmett has a well-established policy of refraining from discussing leasing matters with external entities. While we have not yet seen the complaint, we will respond following the legal framework,” a spokesperson said.

After signing the lease in September 2022, progress continued steadily at first, according to DuPont’s complaint. In October, DuPont and city officials held multiple discussions about the clinic, including whether it was required to obtain zoning and conditional use permits.

“The city expressly confirmed to DuPont that [it] approved of DuPont’s intended use of the premises, and DuPont began planning construction of the premises,” the lawsuit states.

The building was home to outdated medical offices, and the clinic hired architects and a general contractor to begin the process of demolishing the old facilities and building new ones.

Then, at the beginning of 2023, anti-abortion protesters began demonstrating at the building. DuPont organized meetings with Douglas Emmett, city officials and local and federal law enforcement to ensure the safety of patients and other visitors to the building, according to the complaint.

On April 18, the protesters began appearing at City Council meetings, calling the clinic a “murder mill” and asking the council to stand against a “Holocaust that has killed millions of babies,” and to put the issue on the agenda for the following meeting.

The council never addressed the activists’ complaints or scheduled a discussion of the clinic on a meeting agenda.

“The City Council is prohibited from substantively discussing subjects addressed during the ‘non-agenda item’ period of public comment,” Sterling said.

The lawsuit alleges the city conceded to the protesters by withholding the clinic’s permits.

As of April 24, the city had placed a “hold” on the building permits, with City Attorney Laurence Wiener writing in an email that the city had some questions about whether the abortion services provided at DuPont would violate state laws, according to the complaint.

“In late April,” the city asked Douglas Emmett for a meeting to discuss the clinic’s permits, and “directly asked Douglas Emmett representatives if there was any way to avoid the opening of DuPont’s clinic,” according to the complaint.

“Douglas Emmett representatives later told DuPont that city officials were visibly upset upon learning that Douglas Emmett could not simply prevent DuPont from opening its clinic on the premises,” the complaint states.

Sterling claimed that the meeting was intended to discuss “public safety plans as the clinic prepared to open.” He stated it would “require additional time to research” why the city waited so long before issuing the permits.

After the permits were issued in May, the city doubled down on its efforts to prevent the clinic’s opening, DuPont alleged.

Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark Stainbrook sent a draft letter that would have alerted other tenants to security concerns resulting from the protesters, which DuPont claimed was an intimidation tactic.

On June 5, officials from DuPont, Douglas Emmett, the BHPD, Federal Bureau of Investigation and security firm Allied Universal walked through the building to ensure adequate security for building tenants, according to the complaint.

The complaint further states that on June 8, a Douglas Emmett executive called DuPont officials, making it clear the real estate company did not want the clinic to open. On June 12, the company sent DuPont a letter rescinding the lease, copying Gold and Hunt-Coffey, according to the complaint. Sterling said city officials may be copied on such matters “as information only.”

According to DuPont, this letter violated the terms of the lease.

Even after the rescission letter, protesters continued their pressure campaign, according to the complaint.

Protesters returned to speak at the July 18 City Council meeting and organized a July 29 protest in front of the Wilshire Boulevard offices that drew approximately 100 people, according to BHPD Lt. Reginald Evans.

During the protest, an anti-abortion leader claimed that following the July 18 meeting, he secured a private meeting with Gold, where ‘“we came to an agreement,”’ according to the complaint.

The activist, Tim Clement, read an email from Sterling at the protest: “Per our conversation yesterday morning, this email is to confirm that the attorney for the landlord at 8920 Wilshire Boulevard has notified the city that DuPont Clinic will no longer be taking occupancy and the lease has been rescinded,” according to the complaint.

Sterling said that Clement requested a meeting with the mayor at the July 18 meeting, and during a subsequent phone call on July 26, “we simply shared … that the city was notified that the lease had been rescinded and we sent the [above] email the next day.”

“The information shared with Mr. Clement was public information that had been communicated to the city from the landlord’s attorney,” Sterling added.

Though the clinic stated that it remains committed to expanding health care services to “the people of Los Angeles and those across the country living in restrictive states,” it did not indicate whether it still intends to open a location in Beverly Hills.

DuPont representatives declined to comment, and referred to public statements and court documents.

In an interview, a practicing OBGYN from Beverly Hills, who declined to have her name published, said the landlord’s decision could impact women across the country, as the clinic likely would have served patients who crossed state lines to receive care deemed illegal where they live.

She added that third-trimester abortions offered by DuPont are typically performed after “very rare fetal anomalies that are not diagnosed until later in the pregnancy.” Though such situations are incredibly rare, they can be fatal if not properly treated, the doctor said.

“They are a fraction of abortions sought out, and they are usually very difficult cases medically, emotionally, psychologically,” she said. “This clinic was so unique because it had doulas … and multidisciplinary systems to help women in situations no one could ever imagine being in.”

By appearing to influence Douglas Emmett’s reversal in a state and city that projects a pro-choice image, the anti-abortion activists have logged a big win, she added.

“It’s a feather in their cap showing they had power to shut down a clinic literally on the brink of opening,” the doctor said. “It really does dishearten me … the precedent this might set for other clinics that want to open up in liberal parts of the country.”

In a statement, DuPont did not specify if it still plans to open a clinic in Beverly Hills. (photo by Joey Waldinger)