Cassandra Kraehnke contacted the FHC to report that her family was denied the rental of a mobile home in Monroe because she had one child and was pregnant with a second. Ms. Kraehnke said the agent told her that the property had a “one child policy” and thus her family could not live there because she was expecting a second child. FHC testing supported their claim. FHC Cooperating Attorney Michael Gatti filed the case on behalf of the Kraehnkes. The case was assigned to Federal Judge David M. Lawson.
The FHC also referred the case to U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ filed its own lawsuit against Shamrock Village Mobile Home Park, along with a proposed settlement. Under the settlement, the park’s owner, Tel-Clinton Trailer Courts, agreed to comply with the law, train its employees and create a $20,000 pool to compensate other victims who were turned away because of Shamrock’s alleged policy. The company also agreed to pay a $7,500 civil penalty.
The DOJ lawsuit was assigned to Federal Judge Arthur J. Tarnow and was brought by Assistant United States Attorney Susan DeClercq from the U.S. Department of Justice and Christopher Fregiato, an Attorney with the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section of the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice.