Fair Housing / Lending News

Petty v. Portofino Council of Co-Owners, Inc., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22935 (March 12, 2010) The plaintiffs, Jeffrey, Cindy and Christopher Petty's charged defendants, the Portofino Council of Co-Owners, Inc., with violating the Fair Housing Act, along with violating state laws regulating defamation, libel, slander, negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Defendant responded to the claims by filing a motion to dismiss. The Pettys purchased a home in Corpus Christi, Texas and claim that they were harassed by the defendant in a variety of ways including the disconnection of their phone lines, which interfered with providing the proper care for their deaf son. Additionally, reasonable accommodations were denied the plaintiffs by limiting their ability to take the son’s service dog through the building so that the dog could relieve itself outside. The plaintiff not only claims that the defendant failed to make reasonab...

Marshall Fincher v. South Bend Heritage Foundation, 606 F.3d 331 (7th Cir. 2010) Fincher, tenant, sued the landlord after being denied Section 8 housing based on a prior eviction,claiming he was denied due process of law and suffered the effects of a breach of contract between the defendant and Housing and Urban Development Contract. The District Court a granted summary judgment to the defendant and the Appellate Court affirmed. The Plaintiff brought a complaint against both the South Bend Housing Authority and the South Bend Heritage Foundation. The case against the Housing Authority was remanded to the state courts because the eviction process involved in the claim against the state agency is inherently a state issue. In the complaint against SBHF the plaintiff stated that did not have the opportunity to exercise his due process rights and that he was a party to the contract between the landlord and HUD because he was the recipient of the benefit. The Appellate Court denied both clai...

In celebration of LGBT Pride Month the U.S. Depart of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced an update in policy which proposes new methods for addressing LGBT individuals faced with housing discrimination. The Fair Housing Act does not address housing discrimination based on sexual orientation specifically, nor does it cover gender identity-based discrimination. However, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan suggest that these types of issues could be addressed using other protect groups, for example LGBT parties could claim gender discrimination or discrimination based on a perceived disability. The announcement by HUD regarding adding stronger policy, also encourages individuals to look at state laws and other local protections such as are enacted in approx. 20 states and a number of municipalities, which prohibit LGBT discrimination. HUD says local laws are not used in place of HUD but that they (local laws) can work in concert with the administrative efforts of HUD. Tenants can...