January 1, 2008 | Categories: Litigation | Tags: Ann Arbor, race, U.S. Department of Justice
#W08-40
FHC v Ivanhoe House Apartments
Ann Arbor
After several years of testing Ivanhoe Apartments for possible violations of fair housing law, the FHC filed suit against the owner and resident manager of the housing complex. To investigate allegations of race discrimination the FHC sent African-American and white test teams to Ivanhoe Apartments. Testing evidence supported the claims of race discrimination. The FHC Board voted to act a plaintiff. (The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Havens v Coleman recognizes the right of fair housing organizations to sue for damages under the Federal Fair Housing Act.) Cooperating Attorneys D. Scott Chang and Stephen M. Dane from the law firm of Relman & Dane, and Stephen R. Tomkowiak filed the case on behalf of the Fair Housing Center. Judith Levy and Holly Lincoln from the Department of Justice represented the U.S. The case was assigned to Federal Judge Sean F. Cox.
Court: Federal
Settlement: $82,500 ($35,000 for victims/ $7,500 in civil penalties)