WASHINGTON – A federal court in Detroit has ordered Ypsilanti, Mich., property owner and Washtenaw County Commissioner Ronnie Peterson, and his former manager Glen E. Johnson to pay a total of $82,500 in civil penalties in a sexual harassment case, the Justice Department announced today. The civil penalty is in addition to the $115,000 jury verdict obtained by the department on behalf of six victims of the sexual harassment in August 2010.
“This decision makes clear that property owners can be held accountable for sexual harassment carried out by their rental agents,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division “It is disturbing that some landlords will take advantage of vulnerable women and force them to choose between a roof over their heads or being sexually harassed. It is even more troubling when the harasser is enabled by a property owner who hands him the keys and looks the other way. Rental property owners must establish clear policies against sexual harassment, provide an avenue for tenants to make complaints directly to them, and take those complaints seriously.”
“This order ensures that Mr. Johnson will never again be in a position to prey on tenants who desperately need housing, not harassment,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara McQuade. “It also serves as a warning to other landlords that they will be held accountable if they engage in or enable others to engage in egregious sexual harassment.”
The order, issued yesterday afternoon by Judge Julian Abele Cook Jr., requires Johnson to pay a $55,000 civil penalty, the maximum civil penalty for a first violation of the Fair Housing Act, and orders Peterson to pay a $27,500 penalty. The order also permanently bars Johnson from having any further involvement in the management, rental or maintenance of housing. The order requires Peterson to adopt and implement a comprehensive sexual harassment policy and complaint procedure at his properties.
In its decision, the court noted that Johnson repeatedly sexually harassed six women tenants and that his behavior “was egregious and interfered with the women’s peaceful enjoyment of their homes, which should have been the one place where they could turn for refuge.” The court also noted that Peterson had not taken any corrective action after two of his tenants complained to him about Johnson’s contact. The court noted that Peterson’s conduct was “troubling inasmuch as he was willfully impervious to the complaints from two of his tenants. At the very least, their troubling comments should have put him on notice that he should have given closer attention to Johnson’s supervisory control over his tenants.”
Yesterday’s order is the culmination of a successful civil prosecution against Johnson and Peterson carried out jointly by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. Department attorneys obtained a $115,000 jury verdict against Johnson and Peterson on Aug. 6, 2010, after a six day trial. That verdict required Johnson and Peterson to pay monetary damages to six victims of the harassment. After the verdict, the department asked the court to order civil penalties and issue an injunction to prevent future violations by the defendants. While damages for victims are awarded by a jury, civil penalties and injunctions must be ordered by the court.
Fighting illegal housing discrimination is a top priority of the Justice Department. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt .
Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov or contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at 1-800-669-9777.
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced new proposed rules to ensure that HUD projects are available to all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The full proposed rule is available here. Comments are due by March 25, 2011.
HUD cited as evidence the work done in Michigan by the Fair Housing Center of Southeastern Michigan and the Michigan fair housing centers in Detroit, Kalamazoo, and Grand Rapids. According to HUD’s proposed rule, “There is evidence suggesting that LGBT individuals and families do not have equal access to housing. For example, a 2007 study of housing discrimination based on sexual orientation conducted by Michigan fair housing centers found disparate treatment in 32 out of 120 fair housing tests it conducted. Testers posing as gay or lesbian home seekers received unfavorable treatment on issues such as whether housing was available, the amount of rent, application fees, and levels of encouragement as compared to testers posing as heterosexual home seekers. The gay and lesbian testers also were subjected to offensive comments. See Michigan Fair Housing Center’s Report on ‘‘Sexual Orientation and Housing Discrimination in Michigan’’ January 2007 at http://www.fhcmichigan.org/what‐we‐ do/publications/
The proposed rule “clarifies that all otherwise eligible families, regardless of marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity, have the opportunity to participate in HUD programs” and prohibits inquiries regarding a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
According to Pam Kisch, Executive Director of the Fair Housing Center of Southeastern Michigan, “Currently we are able to pursue some complaints about gender identity or sexual orientation using federal and state laws that ban discrimination based on sex or marital status, but this is a huge step forward.”
Condominium buyer James Newby, sellers Sarah and Joshua Drummonds and the Fair Housing Center of Southeastern Michigan have accepted $40,000 to settle a housing discrimination lawsuit against the Woodcrest Condominium Association (WCA) and its managers, Barbara and Allen Diedrich.
The lawsuit was initiated in 2007 when Mr. Newby contacted the Fair Housing Center to report the denial of his application by the WCA Board of Directors. At the time, Mr. Newby and the Drummonds had a signed sales agreement for purchase of a one bedroom-unit at the Woodcrest complex, which is located in Monroe, Michigan.
The lawsuit alleged that Mrs. Diedrich made comments about her perception that Mr. Newby was disabled. Testing conducted by the Fair Housing Center supported the claims of discrimination based on disability, race, age, and familial status (families with children).
According to the lawsuit, both the prospective buyer and seller were harmed by alleged acts of discrimination at WCA. The Newby offer remains today the only purchase offer that the Drummonds have received since putting their condominium on the market in December of 2006. The Drummonds are prohibited by Woodcrest’s by-laws from renting their condominium, and their inability to sell their condominium has rendered them unable to qualify for a mortgage to buy their own home to raise a family.
Under the terms of the settlement, Barbara and Allen Diedrich are barred from participation in decisions regarding prospective buyers or applicants. The settlement also includes an agreement not to interfere with the Drummonds sale of the condominium to Mr. Newby.
“If Woodcrest Condominiums fails to open its doors to all, regardless of race, age, children, or disability; the Fair Housing Center will be back in court”, said Ann Routt, President of the Board of the Fair Housing Center. “Based on this incident and others, there is an evident need for continued monitoring at this property”.
This is the second time the Woodcrest Condominium Association and Barbara and Allen Diedrich were sued for alleged violations of fair housing law.
As a result of a previous housing discrimination case, filed in 2000, Woodcrest Condominium Association signed a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2002. The decree required the defendants to attend fair housing training, over a five year period, with the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit. The training thoroughly outlined the duties of property owners and managers under fair housing laws.
According to the more recent 2007 lawsuit, both the Fair Housing Center of Southeastern Michigan and the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit believe that Woodcrest Condominiums, Allen Diedrich, and Barbara Diedrich deliberately violated fair housing laws
Fair Housing Center Cooperating Attorney Jonathan G. Weber filed suit on behalf of Mr. Newby, the Drummonds and the Fair Housing Center of Southeastern Michigan in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The suit alleged violations of the Federal Fair Housing Act, and was assigned to Judge John Corbett O’Meara. (Case No. 5:09-cv-10774.)
The Fair Housing Center opened in 1992 to advocate for equal access to housing for all, and to ensure prompt and consistent enforcement of U.S., Michigan, and local fair housing and anti-discrimination laws. Since its founding the FHC has investigated more than 2,300 complaints and won over $1.4 million in settlements and awards for victims of discrimination.
The Fair Housing Center provides services in six counties, including Monroe.
Michael Lowrey and his mother, Marilyn Lowrey, accepted $227,500 to settle their fair housing/ new construction case. The Fair Housing Center settled for $45,000. Lowrey & FHC v Uptown is the largest ever FHC-Southeast assisted settlement. According to the settlement, Uptown in Canton Apartments will finally make the property more accessible for people with disabilities. This includes retro-fitting all ninety-seven first floor units; providing accessible routes through the entire property; and adding accessible parking. Costs for the changes are estimated at over $1,000,000.
Mr. Lowrey contacted the Fair Housing Center in early 2006 because his “barrier free” apartment had some accessibility problems. During our investigation FHC discovered that only four first floor units in the new complex were made accessible. According to the Fair Housing Act, all multi-family housing built for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, must adhere to seven design requirements regarding wheelchair accessibility for ground floor units, and an accessible route.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) “an accessible route means a continuous unobstructed path connecting accessible elements and spaces in a building or within a site that can be negotiated by a person with a severe disability using a wheelchair, and that is also safe for and usable by people with other disabilities. Interior accessible routes may include corridors, floors, ramps, elevators and lifts. Exterior accessible routes may include parking access aisles, curb ramps, walks, ramps and lifts.”
FHC found problems with the sidewalks, lack of access to the mailboxes and other common areas of the property. In the summer of 2006, Mr. Lowrey attempted to sit by the pool while his guests swam. Instead, he was forced to sit outside the pool area fence because the only ramp led to a locked Club House.
HUD guidelines state that:
All covered multifamily dwellings for first occupancy after March 13, 1991 with a building entrance on an accessible route shall be designed and constructed in such a manner that—
FHC Cooperating Attorney J. Mark Finnegan filed the case in Federal Court on behalf of Mr. Lowrey in July 2006. A year later, the FHC Board of directors voted to intervene in the case. Cooperating Attorney Steve Dane of Relman & Dane represented the FHC. Both cases were assigned to Judge Nancy Edmonds.
The Fair Housing Center of Southeastern Michigan provides testing, investigation, advocacy, advice, education and attorney referral to those who believe they are the victims of illegal housing discrimination. Since 1992 the FHC has aided in the filing of over 70 lawsuits.
Total FHC aided settlements are over $1,450,000.