Judge refuses to dismiss discrimination suit against Angels

Friday, August 18th 2006, 8:45 am

By: News On 6

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) _ A judge refused Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit that claimed the Angels discriminated against men by giving tote bags to only women during a Mother's Day baseball game.

Instead, Orange County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Cannon set a procedural hearing for Aug. 30.

The lawsuit, filed by Los Angeles psychologist Michael Cohn, claims thousands of men and fans under age 18 are each entitled to $4,000 in damages because they were treated unfairly during last May's promotion. Women over 18 received the gifts.

The suit names Angels Baseball, the corporate name for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Corinthian Colleges, the parent company of the giveaway's sponsor, Bryman College, as the defendants.

Cohn's attorney, Alfred Rava, said the promotion was for all women over 18 and not just mothers, violating state discrimination laws.

Defense lawyers plan to prove the promotion was for Mother's Day and wasn't discriminatory.

``We would hope the court would not prevent us from celebrating Mother's Day in the future,'' said William Calhoun, an attorney for Corinthian Colleges.