Law student, Joshua Findley is suing a popular Melbourne nightclub for alleged gender discrimination.
Findley claims that himself along with two male friends and one female friend were denied entry into the Swanston Street nightclub, Cookie (located within Curtin House) at 11pm on 17 July, 2015.
In documents filed with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Findley claims that he and his friends were denied entry based on gender.
“My friends and I were planning on a good night at Cookie. Due to discrimination this was not allowed to happen,” Findley said in his claim as reported by The Herald Sun.
“There are bars… (that) have certain policies that ensure there are more women in the venue than men. Most would create another reason for refusal… In this instance, the bouncer explicitly said there were too many guys in our group.”
Findley’s claim is against Curtin House Rooftop which occupies the top floor of the Curtin House complex, however the other two venues in the building along with the security company may be included in the action.
A representative from Curtin House Rooftop, Grant Gould, said in an email to Findley that the reason his party was refused entry was because two of his friends appeared to be intoxicated.
“I believe there may be a misunderstanding. Your group were not denied entry based on gender. I have viewed the CCTV footage and a number of male patrons do indeed gain entry. It’s evident males were not being subject to any alleged discrimination,” Gould wrote.
Findley however says that no members of the group were intoxicated and that there was no mention of refusal of entry due to intoxication by the security guard.
A conference to review the CCTV footage will be held on 12 November.
