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Fair Housing2007-2008

Cases, reports and unusualhappenings in the world of Fair

Housing since last yearsconference

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Who am I?

Tony Baize

Editor of the National Fair Housing

Advocate legal journal

Executive Director of National Alliance onMental Illness Louisville

Former executive director of the KentuckyFair Housing Council

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April 2007

Campos v. Barney G., Inc.

Owner of a mobile home park in Nebraska

refuses to supply water, trash pickup ordead animal removal to residents, all ofwhom are Latino. Landlord files lawsuitagainst tenants when they file

discrimination complaints. Landlorddoesnt show up for court and is ordered topay $350,000.

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April 2007

Housing Rights Center v. Cho

Southern California landlord and managers

found to repeatedly discourage AfricanAmerican applicants while encouragingwhite and Asian American applicants.Manager asked one white applicant, Are

you a nice white girl? The applicantnotified HRC. Cho paid $100,000 to settle.

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April 2007

NCRC v. Aegis Mortgage

Houston-based Aegis Mortgage refuses top

write loans on Native Americanreservations, for group care homes forpersons with disabilities, and for rowhomes. Aegis settles for $475,000 and

policy changes. Aegis closes its doors onAugust 6, 2007.

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April 2007

NCRC v. Aegis Mortgage

Whats a row house or row home?

Baltimore, MDBaltimore, MDBaltimore, MD

Pittsburgh, PAPittsburgh, PAPittsburgh, PA Boston, MABoston, MABoston, MA

More likely to be located in older, innercity neighborhoods

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April 2007

HUD announces FY2006 has highest numberof fair housing complaints ever

10,328 complaints 40% disability discrimination 39% racial discrimination

14% familial status

14% national origin (65% of these were from Latinos)

11% sex

2% religion 1% color

Percentages exceed 100%, because many complaintsallege multiple bases of discrimination

See the FY2006 report athttp://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/fy2006rpt.pdf

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April 2007

(close enough)

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April 2007

Justice Dept. identifies second murdersuspect in Fla. Homeless killings

In 1998, two Florida skinheads attemptedto kill two homeless men to get in theweb. Skinheads who kill someone getspider-web tattoos as a badge of honor.

According to the SPLC, skinheads andother hate groups are increasinglytargeting the homeless.

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April 2007

Justice Dept. settles sexual harassmentsuit in Knoxville (U.S. v. Brewer)

According to the DOJ complaint, landlordWilliam E. Brewer made unwanted sexualadvances toward at least nine female

tenants. He and his wife paid $125,000to settle.

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April 2007

Justice Dept. settles group home suit inIllinois (U.S. v. Fleetwood Capital Dev.)

Springfield, Ill. developer refused to sellnew home lot to Bethesda, a group thatprovides home-based care to persons withdevelopmental disabilities. Fleetwood

settles for $60,000. Bethesda won asimilar case in Wisconsin in 2003.

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May 2007

U.S. v. Matsuoff (S.D. Ohio) Xenia, Ohio landlord asks employees to

racially code applications, refuse repairs toAfrican American tenants, fires managerswho rent to African Americans, andenforces anti-children rules. Complaintsfiled in 1994, trial in 2003, ruling in2007.

Landlord ordered to pay $535,000.

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May 2007

Federal judge in Wisconsin rules There areno kids in this building might be the

statement of a child-loving saint. U.S. v. Walter Perlick Family Trust et al. (Case No. 05-C-

0934 E.D. Wisc.)

U.S. Dist. Judge Stadtmueller wrote, (A) landlord wholoves children may say, sadly, no kids live in the

building, but the neighborhood is great for childrenbecause there are parks and schools nearby. Such astatement would not convey a preference to rent topersons without children. (denied summary judgment)

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May 2007

Fair Housing Council of the SanFernando Valley v. Roommate.com (9th

Cir.) 9th Circuit Court ofAppeals rules that the

Communications Decency Act does notoffer complete immunity to web siteoperators.

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May 2007

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June 2007

HUD adds two new building codes toaccessibility safe harbor list

International Building Code (IBC) 2006

International Code Council (ICC) 2003

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June 2007

Klansman convicted of 1964 murders

James Ford Seale was convicted of

kidnapping and conspiracy in the 1964deaths of two black teenagers in southwestMississippi. Charles Eddie Moore and HenryHezekiah Dee, both 19-year-olds,

disappeared from Franklin County on May2, 1964, and their bodies were found laterin the Mississippi River.

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June 2007

Ky. Fair Housing Council v. WKBAssociates (W.D. Ky.)

U.S. Dist. Judge John Heyburn awards anadditional $47,000 in attorneys fees afterthe defendants failed in their appeal.(More about this later.)

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July 2007

HUD creates Fair Lending Divisionwithin Office of Fair Housing

Approximately 5.5% of all fair housingcomplaints filed with HUD and FHAPagencies involve lending discrimination

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July 2007

U.S. v. Palazzolo (E.D. Mich.)

Michigan developers agree to pay

$146,000 to settle complaint that ThePreserves condos are not accessible topersons with disabilities.

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August 2007

U.S. v. Bathrick (D. Minn.)

Minnesota landlord agrees to pay $400,000

for allegedly sexually harassing at least 12of his female tenants. Bathrick allegedlypreyed upon low-income women withchildren, threatening them with

homelessness if they did not submit to hissexual advances.

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August 2007

The sad, strange case of HUD v. Wooten(Cook County, Ill.)

Sept. 1998: Sheila White files complaint with HUD after

landlord tells her she wont rent to an unmarried womanwith children April 2001: HUD finds probable cause and issues charge

of discrimination July 2003: White files motion for summary judgment February 2004: HUD ALJ RobertAndretta holds hearing

in the case; Wooten fails to appear, despite being served December 2004: Judge Andretta issues finding andorder in favor ofWooten

Jan. 2005: HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson declines toreverse or modify Andrettas decision

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August 2007

The sad, strange case of HUD v. Wooten (CookCounty, Ill.) contined

June 2005: White files appeal with 7th Circuit; DOJ represents

HUD in opposing the appeal April 2006: Gertie Wooten dies

Feb. 2007: 7th Circuit reverses HUDs decision; orders HUD toaward damages to White

March 2007: ALJ Andretta retires; transfers case to ALJ ArthurLiberty

May 2007: ALJ Liberty refuses to award damages to White;saying HUD lacks authority to do so

May 2007: White and her attorney file a writ of mandamusagainst Liberty and Secretary Jackson

August 2007: Liberty awards $12,000 to White

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August 2007

Stein v. Braum Investment andDevelopment Inc.

9th Circuit Court ofAppeals rules that a lossin a state eviction action does not preventplaintiff from filing a federal Fair HousingAct claim.

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September 2007

Garcia v. Brockway (9th Cir.)

Appeals court holds that violations of the

Fair Housing Acts accessibility provisionsare not continuing violations untilcorrected.

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September 2007

Kennedy v. City of Zanesville (S.D. Ohio)

Federal judge rules thatAfrican American

families have enough evidence to proceedto trial in case alleging housingdiscrimination based on 50 years of denialof municipal water. (Denied SJ for Defs)

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October 2007

Schwarz v. City of Treasure Island(M.D. Fla.)

Federal judge rules that city does not haveto allow persons with disabilities andlandlords to enter into short-term leases inresidential zones where they are

prohibited.

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October 2007

U.S. v. Sarasota County(M.D. Fla.)

County agrees to pay $760,000 to

operators of Tammi House (group homesfor recovering alcoholics and drug addicts)after changing zoning laws to cap numberof unrelated residents in a home at four,

and denying reasonable accommodationrequests for exemptions.

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November 2007

National Fair Housing Alliance v.GuideOne Insurance (N.D. Ohio)

The National Fair Housing Alliance andothers sue GuideOne Insurance over its

FaithGuard policies.

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November 2007

National Fair Housing Alliance v. Town& Country Realty (E.D. Mich.)

Town & Country Realty sues the NationalFair Housing Alliance for defamation and

tortious interference.

U.S. v. 1stNatl Bank of Pontotoc (N.D. Miss.)

Bank agrees to pay $350,000 after VP allegedlysexually harasses at least 15 female applicants

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November 2007

Louisville Metro Human RelationsCommission v. Graoch Assoc. (6th Cir.)

The Sixth Circuit reversed a district courtdecision holding that a complexswithdrawal from Section 8 could never beused as a basis for a disparate impact

complaint of racial discrimination.However . . . .

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November 2007

High Plains Community DevelopmentCorp. v. Dr. Joann Schaefer (D. Neb)

The Chief Medical Officer of the state ofNebraska is not immune from Fair HousingAct lawsuits.

HUD v. RidgecrestApts. (St. Louis, MO) Complex owners agree to pay $170,000 for

enforcing rules like no kids outside.

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December 2007

Matyasovszky v. Bridgeport HousingAuthority (Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities)

Housing authority agrees to pay $760,000to persons with disabilities after illegallyexcluding them from housing designatedas elderly and disabled.

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December 2007

Jackson v. Novastar Mortgage (W.D.Tenn.)

Federal judge denies defendants motion todismiss Memphis womans claims thatNovstar and its subsidiaries and affiliatestargeted their radio ads for

suprime/predatory loans to AfricanAmericans

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December 2007

KY Fair Housing Council v. WKB (S. Ct.)

Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal in this case,

leaving in place the 6th

Circuit decision, which among other things upheld the standing of fairhousing groups to sue developers, the statute oflimitations in accessibility cases begins to run afterthe completion of each individual sale or rental,

and developers must show that units areaccessible by some reasonable standard.

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January 2008

City of Baltimore v. Wells Fargo Bank

The city alleges thatWells Fargo forecloses

on homes more often in neighborhoodswhere African Americans are in themajority, claiming that two out of everythree foreclosed homes were in majority

African American neighborhoods.

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January 2008

Del Boca Vista v. City of Delray Beach (S.D. Fla.)

City agrees to pay $150,000 to developersof groups care homes for older personswith disabilities after the city refused toissue building permits.

Martinez v. Partch (D. Colo.)

Federal judge rules that Fair Housing Actdoes not prohibit discrimination based oncitizenship status.

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February 2008

Greater New Orleans Fair Housing ActionCenter v. St. Bernard Parish (S.D. La.)

Following Hurricane Katrina, St. Bernard Parish passedan ordinance limiting the rental of homes to bloodrelatives of the landlord.

St. Bernard is 86% white, according to the U.S. Census,thus the ordinance limits the availability of rental housingto African Americans and other minorities, including

residents of adjacent Orleans Parish which is 37% white.

Feb. 2008 settlement for $32,500 to GNOFHAC andrepeal of rental ordinance.

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January 2008

United States v.Pine Properties (D. Mass.) Owners of 13 rental properties in Massachusetts

agreed to pay $150,000 for requiring employment

verifications for applicants of Cambodian descentbut not for whites.

Fair Housing Council of Orange County v.Luke (C.D. Calif.)

Property owner pays $270,000 to settle federallawsuit alleging managers evicted Latino tenantsin order to rent units to tenants of Vietnamesedescent.

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March 2008

Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil RightsUnder the Law, Inc. v. Craigslist (7th Cir.)

Court of appeals affirms District Court ruling thatthe Communications Decency Act prevents website operators for being sued for Fair Housing Actviolations based on ads created by third-partyusers.

Differs from Roommates.com (9th Cir.) in thatcraigslist engaged in no editing or development ofcontent

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March 2008

United States v. District of Columbia (D. D.C.)

Federal judge rules that the District of Columbia

violated the Fair Housing Act when it refused togrant exemptions to Father Flanagans Boys Townto run group homes for disabled children.

Judge refuses to throw out D.C.s zoning law,which DOJ alleges treats housing for disabled

persons less favorably than other housing bylimiting number of persons and requiring minimumdistances between group care homes.

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March 2008

3-31-08: HUD Secretary AlphonsoJackson resigns

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Closing remarks

The death of private nonprofit fairhousing groups: Montana, KY, NW IN

and many othersHUD, FHAP agencies and privatenonprofit fair housing groups are on the

same team