Marlyss Magennis contacted the Fair Housing Center in July of 1993 with a complaint of housing discrimination. According to Magennis she was prevented from renting a duplex on Bemis Road in southeastern Washtenaw County because she lives with her 17-year-old-son.
Testing conducted by the Fair Housing Center confirmed that Shoner offered to show the unit to a family with two adults and stated “… I’d just like to keep it adults; only adults live on the side.”
According to the lawsuit filed in September 1993, the property owner, Edna Shoner, expressed reservations about renting to Magennis because she had a son. The law suit goes on to claim that Shoner began yelling at Magennis about her son. She stated that the duplex was her place and that she would rent to whomever she wanted. The suit filed by cooperating attorney David Cahill in Washtenaw County Circuit Court alleges discrimination based on familial status. The case was assigned to Judge Kurtis T. Wilder.
In the course of the litigation it was discovered that Shoner had also obtained an unauthorized copy of Magennis’ credit report in violation of Federal Fair Credit law. Shoner signed a written statement falsely stating that she had the permission of Marlyss Magennis to obtain her credit records.
In August of 1994, Marlyss Margennis accepted an offer of $12,000 to settle her familial status claim against duplex owner Edna Shoner. Magennis will use the settlement money for a down payment on a home.