Smith and Roberson's Business Law 16th Edition by Richard Mann,Barry Roberts

Exercise 11

E-Z-Rest Motel is a motel with 216 rooms located in the center of a large city in State Y. It is readily accessible from two interstate highways and three major State highways. The motel solicits patronage from outside of State Y through various national advertising media, including magazines of national circulation. It accepts convention trade from outside State Y, and approximately 75 percent of its registered guests are from out of State Y. An action under the Federal Civil Rights Act has been brought against E-Z-Rest Motel alleging that the motel discriminates on the basis of race and color. The motel contends that the statute cannot be applied to it because it is not engaged in interstate commerce. Can the Federal government regulate this activity under the Interstate Commerce Clause? Why?