- its members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right;
- the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization's purposes; and
- neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires the participation of individual members in the lawsuit.
The City argued that the Allliance's second cause of action alleging that the City unconstitutionally discriminates among different groups of property owners was not "germane" to the Alliance's corporate purpose. The Alliance's articles of incorporation state that its purpose is to "Educate & Advocate for short term rental owners & operators [sic]." Apparently recognizing that this purpose may be insufficiently germane, the Alliance amended its bylaws before filing its action to "clarify" that its purpose includes prevention of discrimination. Judge Lorenz, however, found this to be unavailing as it contradicted the specific purpose of the corporation as set forth in its articles of incorporation. Accordingly, he concluded that the Alliance lacked standing as to its second cause of action.
