In October 1993 the Fair Housing Center of Washtenaw County and Margaret Fairchild (formerly Margaret Shannon), a single parent with one child, filed a lawsuit in Federal Court suing Camelot Apartments in Ypsilanti, Michigan for discrimination against families with children.
According to the suit Camelot Apartments denied Fairchild and her then four-year-old son the opportunity to rent a one-bedroom apartment and also “made, printed and published notices and statements with respect to the rental o the dwelling that indicate preference, limitations and discrimination based on familial status”.
The Camelot Apartments application stated a policy of “one person or one couple per bedroom.” Testing conducted by the Fair Housing Center supports the claim of discrimination against families with children. The suit was filed by Fair Housing Center Cooperating Attorneys Sarah J. Stitt and Steve Dane of Cooper, Straub, Walinski & Cramer. This is the first time the Fair Housing Center has joined a fair housing suit. The 1982 Supreme Court decision in Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman upheld the right of fair housing organizations to sue under the Federal Fair Housing Act.
The FHC and Margaret Fairchild settled their law suit against Camelot Apartments for $36,500. Fairchild, who accepted $15,000, told the FHC she was very pleased with the settlement. “I didn’t care about the money, I just wanted them to learn that they can’t treat people like they treated me.” The settlement also included $2,500 (plus interest) for the Fair Housing Center and $19,000 in attorneys fees.