Provide each applicant with a written notice explaining that you intend to comply with all applicable fair housing laws, that you do not discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, religion, sex, age, family status, national origin, disability or any other protected category in your jurisdiction. The complaint, which was filed on October 30, 2020, alleges that the owners and managers of a 15-lot mobile home park in West Plains, Missouri discriminated on the basis of disability by requiring a pet deposit for the complainants assistance animal and verbally harassing the complainants, brandishing a gun, and physically attacking one of the complainants. The lawsuit alleged "widespread violations of the federal Fair Housing Act's accessibility requirements" at 38 Clover Group properties, including three in Indiana. Its fair to be angry and scaredthe direct federal fines for violations of the Fair Housing Act are usually $17,000 per violation; total settlements on race, familial status, age and sex discrimination cases often reach well into the six figuresbut those overwhelming emotions are why you should go straight to your lawyer. The case centers on Detroit, where from 2004 to 2006, African Americans were 70 percent more likely to receive a subprime loan than white borrowers with the same income and credit background. Facebook, in its settlement with fair housing and other civil rights groups last week, said it would withhold a wide array of detailed demographic information including gender, age and Zip . Because a familys home is often its greatest asset, unfair practices drive growth of the racial wealth gap, said William Tisdale, President and CEO of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council. With the disparate impact standard, the Department of Justice was able to argue that the disproportionate harm to communities of color put predatory lenders in violation of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. If youre already a member, login to access this page. The plaintiffs collected more than 49,000 photographs revealing poorly maintained properties in Black and Latino communities, particularly as compared to properties in predominantly White neighborhoods. Fair Housing Act Cases | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban The Justice Department announced today that it has secured an agreement to resolve a lawsuit alleging that landlord Darrell Jones of Muskegon, Michigan, violated the Fair Housing Act by sexually harassing female tenants. United States v. Premiere Holdings, Inc. (D. Nev.) Overview. The court ordered defendant to pay the aggrieved persons, a married couple, $37,431 in compensatory damages, entered an injunction requiring the defendant to promptly respond to requests for accommodations for assistance animals, maintain records, and follow the policies it adopted after the jury verdict for the next three years, and assessed a civil penalty of $1. Limit personal contact with plaintiffs as much as practicable. The complaint alleges that the defendants discriminated on the basis of disability in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by refusing to allow complainants, who received their SSI and SSDI payments around the third of every month, to pay their rent by the fifth of the month. The plaintiffs allege that SafeRent scores result in an unlawful disparate impact against Black and Hispanic rental applicants because the underlying algorithm relies on certain factors that disproportionately disadvantage Black and Hispanic applicants, such as credit history and non-tenancy related debts, while failing to consider one highly-relevant factor, that the use of housing vouchers funded by HUD makes such tenants more likely to pay their rents. The Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana and fair housing organizations in six different states announced a settlement has been reached in a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Clover Group. The jury also found that the Defendant had violated the Fair Housing Act rights of three persons a married couple who owned a unit and another woman who was also a unit owner - whose requests for accommodations for assistance animals were denied or unreasonably delayed. Christie Thompson was an intern at ProPublica. According to lending data, African-American customers in the Chicago area paid on average $2,937 more in broker feesthan similarly situated white customers. By submitting your e-mail address, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy (http://www.legalaidnc.org/privacy). A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. The complaint alleges that defendants, the City of El Paso and its agents, engaged in a pattern or practice of violating Section 3958 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by repossessing at least 176 vehicles owned by protected servicemembers without the required court orders. Keep up-to-date with the latest news and housing related activism. No doubt youve made sure your, Now that New Years Eve has come and gone, we find ourselves in a whole new decade that presents property managers with an ever-growing amount. On February 7, 2023, the court entered a consent order in this Fair Housing Act election case. v. INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES PROJECT, INC., ET AL. Access to affordable housing is a central aspect to successful reintegration for the thousands of Americans and North Carolinians, disproportionately people of color, released from incarceration each year. Whether youre already working with a law firm on this type of case, or youre in the beginning stages of the process, you may be looking for ways to receive money as quickly as possible. An official website of the United States government. There is normally a deadline by which you must respond, or the plaintiffs attorney may be able to enter a request for a default judgment against you. (E.D. Apply California, Central District filter, Apply Pennsylvania, Eastern District filter, Apply California, Northern District filter, Apply Mississippi, Southern District filter, Apply Pennsylvania, Western District filter, Apply Washington, Eastern District filter, Apply Washington, Western District filter, Apply Mississippi, Northern District filter, Apply North Carolina, Eastern District filter, Meet the Head of the Civil Rights Division, United States v. Joel Nolen et al. Cases & Matters: Relman Colfax PLLC National Fair Housing Alliance and Redfin Agree to Settlement Which On January 31, 2023, the court entered a consent order in United States v. City National Bank (C.D. If you have a website, make it available online. Please contact. The organizations were also represented by Morgan Williams, NFHAs General Counsel, and Julia Howard-Gibbon, Supervising Attorney of Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California. (W.D. Recent HUD Settlement Updates Fair Housing Project Landlords often take various factors into consideration when making decisions regarding rental applications, such as requiring certain income minimums (to ensure monthly rent can be paid), good credit, and no criminal background. Specifically, the complaint alleged that the Defendants failed to grant a reasonable accommodation to its breed restriction policy to allow a woman with PTSD to visit her mother at the mobile home community with her assistance animal and that the Defendants interfered with the Complainants fair housing rights by banning the daughter and evicting the mother from the community. ), United States v. Vernon C. Morgan (D. Colo.), United States v. City National Bank (C.D. In its Statement of Interest, the United States addresses the correct legal standard for the Court to apply when determining whether subjecting the home to these conditions would have afforded persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling under the FHA. Md. We do not generally permit translation of our stories into another language. Mo.). On November 5, 2019, The Fortune Society, a New York-based non-profit that provides housing and other services to formerly incarcerated individuals, announced that it had resolved its Fair Housing Act (FHA) lawsuit against the owners and operators of a large apartment community located in Queens, New York. Viewour complete disclaimer. If you are using a screen reader and are having problems using this website, please call. If you take negative action of any kind against a tenant who filed a housing discrimination complaint against you, youll open yourself up to more fines and penalties. NFHA and the plaintiff fair housing organizations will use over $35 million of the settlement to promote homeownership, neighborhood stabilization, access to credit, property rehabilitation, and residential development in the 39 metropolitan areas at issue in the case. USClaims | Fair Housing Lawsuit Pre-Settlement Funding When it comes to being discriminated against and purchasing a home, this can also extend into mortgage lending, too. We provide our members with lorem ipsum placeholder benefits summary. The Fair Housing Act also applies to purchasing a home as well, as some people may have difficulties buying a specific home because they are potentially being discriminated against. Who can we contact at your Law Firm to finish the application: Pre-Settlement Funding: Fair Housing Lawsuit. (Subprime loans come with higher interest rates to account for a supposed higher risk of default.) Rental scams 101: 6 strategies property managers can use to keep themselves and their listings safe, Website accessibility and ADA compliance for property managers, 5 housing regulations for 2020: What property managers need to know, Property maintenance services: The complete checklist and guide, 10 property management bookkeeping basics, How does a 1031 exchange work? *By clicking SUBMIT, I consent to the Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use, including mandatory arbitration. The jury also found that the Defendant had violated the Fair Housing Act rights of three persons a married couple who owned a unit and another woman who was also a unit owner - whose requests for accommodations for assistance animals were denied or unreasonably delayed. La Maison Investment, LLC is also named as a defendant in the case. This complaint wascharged by HUD.