A California restaurant owned by a family shut down following a lawsuit accusing it of gender discrimination for its "Ladies Night" promotion.

The Peruvian restaurant in Concord, California, which is owned by a family, closed its doors on New Year's Eve due to financial difficulties resulting from a recent lawsuit.

Lima's weekly ladies' night promotion brought the restaurant national attention. Although this practice was once popular and profitable, Chef/owner John Marquez revealed to the New York Post that a gender-discrimination lawsuit filed last year has resulted in significant financial losses for his restaurant.

Marquez stated on KRON-TV that the recent discrimination lawsuit related to the ladies' night discount has not yet been fully recovered from. He added that the individuals behind the lawsuit may not be local residents, but rather "ambulance-chasing lawyers" seeking to exploit California's state laws.

He stated to ABC7 News that the lawsuit was unnecessary and led to their downfall.

According to California law, businesses must provide "full and equal accommodations" regardless of customers' identities.

The Unruh Civil Rights Act, a longstanding California law, mandates that all individuals within the state's jurisdiction are entitled to equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services regardless of their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status.

Rebecca Nieman, a professor of business law and ethics at the University of San Diego, warned that small mom-and-pop bars may not be aware of the law, which is why lawsuits against extremely small proprietors are still occurring.

Besides restaurants, numerous other businesses are being affected by this California law.

Last year, the Fresno Grizzlies, a minor league baseball team, reportedly faced a $5-million lawsuit for allowing free admission for women during a "ladies night" promotion.

In that case, the plaintiffs were represented by Alfred Rava, a San Diego-based lawyer who had also represented the Oakland Athletics in a class-action lawsuit over a Mother's Day giveaway of a free plaid reversible bucket hat.