Wilson White Company will now take student loans into account when calculating the income of prospective tenants. They also agreed to pay Jamie Ewen $1,500 to settle her suit against the company. Ewen sued Wilson White for discrimination based on source of income and educational association under the City of Ann Arbor Human Rights Ordinance.
Ms. Ewen was denied the rental of an apartment at 1025 Arbordale in Ann Arbor after Wilson White refused to include her student loan when determining her income. At the time Ms. Ewen was a full-time student at the University of Michigan and employed on a part-time basis.
The FHC investigation confirmed that Wilson White’s income requirements differed for their “campus units” compared to the Arbordale apartments. According to the lawsuit, Wilson White’s “knows and intends that its policies serve to steer full-time University of Michigan students to the on-campus properites, and to preserve the off campus properties for persons who are employed full-time.”
Cooperating Attorney Nicholas Roumel of the University of Michigan Student Legal Services filed suit on behalf of Jamie Ewen. Filed in the 15th District Court, the case was assigned to Judge Julie Creal Goodridge.