In the case involving SunTrust, the story has been updated to include loan officers as well as brokers. On February 7, 2023, the court entered a consent order in this Fair Housing Act election case. The organizations were also represented by Morgan Williams, NFHAs General Counsel, and Julia Howard-Gibbon, Supervising Attorney of Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California. 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. The original complaint was filed on July 23, 2021. If you use canonical metadata, please use the ProPublica URL. The case is based on a HUD complaint that was filed by Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services (SWPLS), a non-profit legal aid organization whose mission includes combating housing discrimination, after the organization conducted fair housing testing. To view this content you must be a paying member. The Louis lawsuit was filed on behalf of two plaintiffs, Mary Louis and Monica Douglas, Black rental applicants who use housing vouchers to pay part of their rent. 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 . On February 7, 2023, the court entered a consent order in this Fair Housing Act "election" case. Tex.). The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability. Fair Housing Act Cases | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Home / Program Offices / Office of Hearings and Appeals / Cases / Fair Housing Act Cases Fair Housing Act Cases A PDF Reader is necessary to view these files. The consent order requires the Village to grant Light of the World Gospel Ministries a special use permit to construct a new multi-use building including a church on property it had purchased in a commercial district of the Village. US Bank NFHA et al. In this complaint, testing revealed that agents of the Lee Garland and Rita Jensen Team of RE/MAX Alliance discriminated on the basis of race. In certain circumstances, FHEO may initiate a compliance review based on the information submitted in a complaint. Whether its renting or purchasing a home, individuals and families seeking housing have protection under the Fair Housing Act, and its crucial to understand your rights so that youll be able to easily recognize possible signs of discrimination. By submitting your e-mail address, you also acknowledge that the information you provide will be transferred to MailChimp for processing in accordance with their Privacy Policy and Terms (https://mailchimp.com/legal). As part of HUD's Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP), FHEO may refer a fair housing complaint to a state or local government agency for investigation. Thank you for your interest in republishing this story. The case involved fair housing testing. Keep up-to-date with the latest news and housing related activism. Any website our stories appear on must include a prominent and effective way to contact you. Brokers at the countrys largest mortgage lender were found to have raised interest rates and broker fees for more than 30,000 minority customers. Last week, the Obama administration formalized the legal standard it has used to enforce fair housing laws and hold banks accountable for their role in a foreclosure crisis that hit black and Latino homeowners the hardest. Cases prior to 2018 are available on the old case list page. Mo.). The settlement will directly and immediately benefit the communities of color hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis and its aftermath. (W.D. The Fortune Society had alleged in the case that (1) Defendants refused rental inquires for their clients because of their policy prohibiting anyone with a criminal record from residing there, and (2) Defendants policy was discriminatory in violation of the FHA because it disproportionately excluded African Americans and Latinos from housing, without considering each potential tenants individual circumstances. He lives in Fort Lauderdale, FL with his cat, Sasha, and an unknown number of musical instruments. Shirlee Nolen and Nolen Properties, LLC, are also named as defendants because they co-own or co-owned properties where harassment occurred at the relevant times. Read about the settlementhere. Join our blog newsletter to stay up to date on property management industry insights. Other times, you may even be questioning it yourself, without knowing with absolute certainty. Fannie Mae has implemented practices that will help prevent harmful treatment of communities of color in the future, including increasing its oversight of maintenance of properties it owns, prioritizing owner-occupants rather than investors as purchasers of REOs, and ensuring that it complies with fair housing laws by providing fair housing training to its employees and vendors. Take discrimination and equal housing obligations seriously, especially if youre in a leadership position. Litigation Log - Fair Housing Center of Southeast & Mid Michigan Litigation Log It is understood that in all "settled" cases reported on this site, the defendant, unless otherwise noted, denies the allegations of discrimination made by the plaintiff, and the parties have agreed to resolve the case prior to a trial on the merits. 29, The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) announced in a court filing that it had reached a settlement with Redfin to resolve its fair housing lawsuit against the real estate giant. Monthly property management resources will be delivered to your inbox! Both sides moved for summary judgment on this claim. NFHA is a consortium of more than 200 private, nonprofit fair housing organizations and state and local civil rights agencies from throughout the United States. Keep up with our investigations by following us onFacebookandTwitter, or read more about the Fair Housing Act, andhow the government betrayed a landmark civil rights law. Attempt to justify your actions to housing investigators, except through your attorney. Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center et. Legal Aid of North Carolina does not provide legal assistance by email. 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. A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. This was one of the first cases in the country to challenge overly broad bans on renting to people with criminal records as discriminatory under the FHA. Visit Website. Just enter your email below and we'll keep you posted when we have new articles. Keep records for the length of the statute of limitations in your jurisdiction (generally three to seven years). But thats the last thing you should do. Use this comprehensive property management maintenance checklist to get through repairs faster and more efficiently than previously possible. The amended complaint, which was filed on October 8, 2021, alleged that defendants Perry Homes Inc., Robert Whittington and Allyson Whittington discriminated on the basis of disability in violation of the Fair Housing Act by implementing a policy of excluding emotional support animals from rental properties they owned or operated in Cranberry, Zelienople, and Harmony, Pennsylvania. PrimeLending incentivized increasing overages (higher interest rates) by providing higher compensation for loan officers. 3 Center Plaza, Suite 400 Christie Thompson was an intern at ProPublica. This complaint wascharged by HUD. The complaint alleges that the defendant discriminated on the basis of sex in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by sexually harassing the complainant when she rented housing in a building the he owned and managed and by retaliating against her by ordering her to move out after she objected to his advances. The consent order requires the defendants to pay $40,000 to the HUD complainants, attend fair housing training, and submit to other standard injunctive relief. In 2011, HUD agreed to pay roughly $62 million under a new Blight Reduction Grant Adjustment program. If the case attracts media attention, you want your message to be a part of the media cycle from the beginning, otherwise your only representation in the media is No comment.. But, there are some things you can do to make yourself a less tempting target for lawsuits, maximize the likelihood that a judge will drop the case, or set yourself up for a more favorable settlement. (D. Read the press release and agreement here, Read the full Press Release and Agreement here. The Department of Justice found that PrimeLending regularly set higher loan prices for African American borrowers. Read about []. Here are a few dos and donts that may ease the process: Jason is a freelance writer and editor, as well as an avid fiddler. 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. The statement of interest explains that damages may be available to private litigants pursuing land use claims against municipal defendants under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA). The total amount to be paid by the Respondents is $80,000. On November 15, 2022, the United States filed a statement of interest related to damages briefing in Adam Community Center v. City of Troy, Michigan, et al (E.D. And they're relying on the, Purpose-built property accounting software, Get paid faster with our online payment platform, Managing work orders has never been easier, Easily create your 1099s and stay organized during tax season, A free property management website, hosted by Buildium, Jumpstart your portfolio growth with All Property Management, An ever-expanding ecosystem of property management apps, Free your data to operate more efficiently. The Justice Deptartment charged C&F Mortgage with violating the FHA and ECOA by raising interest rates for black and Hispanic mortgage customers. Contact the Fair Housing Project or a private attorney if you need to speak with an attorney regarding your particular situation. The case was the first time a federal court confirmed the nations fair housing laws cover the maintenance and marketing of Real Estate Owned (REO) properties. United Road Towing, Inc. d/b/a UR Vehicle Management Solutions and Rod Robertson Enterprises, Inc. are also named as defendants in the case. The fair housing groups are represented by noted civil rights law firms Relman Colfax PLLC and Dane Law LLC. Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 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. This case demonstrates that in addition to overt acts of discrimination, actions which have a disparate impact on people and communities of color must also be addressed, said Erin Kemple, Executive Director of the Connecticut Fair Housing Center. The complaint alleges that City National Bank (City National), violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by engaging in unlawful redlining in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Division (Los Angeles County) by avoiding providing credit services to majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods because of the race, color, and national origin of the people living in those neighborhoods.