BASF Board Passes Resolution Boycotting the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego Hotel and Meeting Events Held by the State Bar of California at the Hotel

Hotel Owner was Major Backer of Yes on Proposition 8 Campaign

March 20, 2009 – San Francisco -- On March 18, 2009, the Board of Directors of The Bar Association of San Francisco passed a resolution demanding that the State Bar of California move its annual meetings in 2009 and 2011 from the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego to a location “whose ownership does not fund the elimination of the civil rights of any Californian.” The owner of the hotel was a major financial backer of the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign. 

The resolution also demanded that the Board of Governors of the State Bar of California convene a public board meeting where they will transparently and candidly discuss the reasons behind its decision not to change the venue for the 2009 and 2011 annual meetings.

In a letter to State Bar President Holly Fujie, BASF President Russell S. Roeca, Roeca Haas Hager LLP, announced that BASF will boycott the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego as a locale for the State Bar annual meetings but stressed, “BASF is encouraging participation of its members only in State Bar annual meeting events that have no affiliation with the Manchester Grand Hyatt,” including the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations whose annual meeting is being held at the San Diego Bayfront Hilton this year.

Download a copy of the resolution and the letter to State Bar President Holly Fujie.