In a Northern District of California case, Judge Thomas Hixson recommended sanctions against defendant Abdulrahim Harara for violating at least six discovery orders, though he rejected the plaintiff's request for terminating sanctions that would end the case without trial.
The case stems from alleged discrimination at the Jerusalem Coffee House, which Harara owns. According to the complaint, on June 10, 2024, Michael Radice, who is Jewish, visited the East Bay Community Space wearing a baseball cap with a Star of David. A man at the coffee house asked, "Are you a Jew?" and then "Are you a Zionist?" before shouting accusations that Radice was complicit in Israel's military actions in Gaza. On August 3, 2024, when Radice returned to purchase a cookie, the same man told him, "You're the guy with the hat. You're the Jew. You're the Zionist. We don't want you in our coffee shop. Get out."
Harara's biggest discovery failure was the nonproduction of email, which he could not adequately explain. However, Judge Hixson found that email was not essential to resolving discrimination claims centered on in-person refusals to serve. The judge noted that Radice had obtained substantial evidence through text messages, social media posts, and other electronic records, including statements allegedly showing Harara's prejudicial intent.
Judge Hixson wrote, "Before email existed, public accommodation discrimination claims like this were tried the old fashioned way: The participants in the alleged events testified, and the trier of fact decided who to believe. That option is still available here."
The court recommended denying terminating sanctions and adverse inference instructions, allowing the case to proceed to trial on the merits. However, Judge Hixson recommended imposing monetary sanctions on Harara to compensate Radice's counsel for increased litigation costs caused by the discovery violations. After deducting fees for work preceding the violations, the judge recommended sanctions of approximately $118,000.