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- Latest news item posted on 07/02/2009 at 09:51 AM
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- Please welcome our new partner, the Fair Housing Council of Suburban Philadelphia.
- New! We have the full text of cases announced in the newly revived Fair Housing-Fair Lending bulletin. If you are a subscriber to our case database, you can just enter the FH-FL case number to view it. (If you're not, you should be!)
If you don't yet subscribe to Fair Housing-Fair Lending, visit Equitas Media to get your subscription.
- Attention fair housing agencies: Our agency finder now allows us to tell web site users your service area. Please feel free to contact us so that we can add that information to your record. If we don't have you in our agency finder yet, please use the contact form to tell us about you!
State agency awards tax credits for housing for seniors, the homeless in Midtown Cleveland
(CLEVELAND, July 02, 2009)
-- A state agency awarded more than $26 million in tax credits for affordable housing Thursday -- including awards that will support two controversial projects in Midtown Cleveland.
The Ohio Housing Finance Agency awarded $1 million in credits to Emerald Alliance V, a development that will provide apartments for the homeless on 1.3 acres at 7515 Euclid Ave. The agency awarded $915,122 for a senior housing development at 7338 and 7350 Euclid Ave. Nonprofit community group MidTown Cleveland Inc. had been opposing both proposals.
FULL STORY at Cleveland.com
Beazer execs to forfeit $1 million in bonuses
(CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 02, 2009)
-- Two top Beazer Homes executives have agreed to pay their bonuses from last year into the $50 million restitution fund the homebuilder is establishing for victims of its predatory lending practices, according to company filings.
Ian McCarthy, president and chief executive officer, and Michael Furlow, executive vice president and chief operating officer, have contributed the after-tax proceeds of their 2008 bonuses “in recognition of the financial challenges currently facing the Company,” Beazer said. The money will be used to defray the company's payments into the fund.
Securities filings show McCarthy's bonus was $600,000 last year, before taxes, in addition to his $1.2 million salary and $223,000 in other compensation. Furlow's bonus was $400,000, pre-tax, in addition to his $800,000 salary and $112,000 in other compensation.
FULL STORY in Charlotte Observer
Latino Social Services Organization Files Discrimination Suit Against Town of Milbridge
(MILLBRIDGE, Maine, July 01, 2009)
-- Last month, the town of Milbridge passed a six-month building moratorium on multi-family housing. That stops a housing project for farmworkers proposed by a Latino social services group from moving forward. The group, known as Mano en Mano, is raising charges of discrimination and has now filed suit against the town.
Town officials say that the moratorium will give them time to develop land use regulations needed to address projects like the one proposed by Mano en Mano. The organization disputes that reasoning.
"I think it's mainly going to about who's going to be living there."
Anais Tomezsko is executive director of Mano en Mano.
FULL STORY at The Main Public Broadcasting Network
Congressional hearing looks into Wells Fargo predatory lending
(BALTIMORE, July 01, 2009)
-- An epic legal showdown between Wells Fargo bank and the city of Baltimore will occur on Monday July 6 in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Benson E. Legg. The city of Baltimore is suing the bank for engaging in deliberate predatory lending practices that targeted Black and Latino consumers. Judge Legg will decide on whether the case can go forward.
The Baltimore Sun reports that the suit has potentially far reaching implications:
“Barbara Samuels, a fair housing attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, which has been following the case, called it ‘innovative’ and potentially groundbreaking. ‘The city filing rather than the individual homeowners keeps the focus on pattern and business practices, as opposed to getting lost in the weeds of individual transactions,’ Samuels said.”
FULL STORY in People's Weekly World Newspaper
Public housing tenants and advocates vent to agency
(BALTIMORE, Md., July 01, 2009)
-- Public housing tenants decried their living conditions, as advocates urged city officials to improve communication with residents and address the diminished availability of low-income homes.
In a three-hour hearing attended by more than 50 people Monday night at City Hall, officials from the Housing Authority of Baltimore City along with city councilmembers listened as several public housing tenants complained of unresponsive management, while advocates maintained that the central problem confronting the agency is a lack of affordable homes.
ACLU fair housing lawyer Barbara Samuels testified that the city faced "an urgent crisis" with nearly 30,000 households on waiting lists for public housing or Section 8 vouchers. Anatonia Fasanelli, executive director of the Homeless Persons Representation Project, added that the backlog has contributed to the city’s increase in homelessness.
"There are families, there are individuals, there are veterans, there are persons with disabilities, who have nowhere to go in this city," Fasanelli said.
FULL STORY at investigativevoice.com
U.S. Realtors Square Off in Housing Case
(ATLANTA, Ga., July 01, 2009)
-- The federal government and a real estate agent have accused one another of failing to meet legal deadlines in a housing discrimination case in Federal Court. The U.S. Attorney's Office, on behalf of the National Fair Housing Alliance, claims two real estate agencies and a realtor steered prospective white clients away from housing in black neighborhoods.
The original complaint, filed in November 2008, was against Coldwell Banker Joe T. Lane Realty and agent Rodney Foreman. However, Coldwell Banker Bullard Realty Company was added as a defendant after it bought Lane Realty's assets, including Lane Realty's agents and customer lists.
The housing alliance investigated Lane Realty's sales practices by dispatching "testers" to compare how the companies treated home buyers of different races. Testers are people who don't intend to buy a home, but probe into the availability of housing to see if the company's practices are discriminatory. The investigation lasted from October 2003 to August 2005.
The United States recently filed a motion for default against Lane Realty, saying the "defendant has failed to plead or otherwise defend against the United States' complaint within the allotted time." Lane Realty missed the April 4 deadline to act.
FULL STORY at courthousenews.com
Beazer to pay up to $53 million to settle mortgage-fraud charges
(WASHINGTON, July 01, 2009)
-- Beazer Homes USA Inc. will pay up to $53 million to settle mortgage-fraud charges related to federally insured mortgage loans the company made to buyers of its homes, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
The department said Beazer will pay $5 million to the federal government and up to $48 million to victimized homeowners.
The settlement is tied to an agreement with federal prosecutors in North Carolina that will allow the company to avoid criminal prosecution.
FULL STORY in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Significant Civil Rights Decision
(WASHINGTON, June 30, 2009)
-- A significant ruling was recently issued in The Equal Rights Center v. AvalonBay Communities, Inc., a case involving allegations of discrimination against persons with disabilities. Kelley Drye and its co-counsel, The Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Deckert LLP, argued that AvalonBay Communities, Inc., a developer of residential real estate, failed to comply with the design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In denying the defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint, United States District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr., of the District of Maryland, ruled that the Equal Rights Center had standing to bring the action and that the "continuing violation" theory applied to the purported statute of limitations defense.
AvalonBay Communities, Inc. had argued that, as the Fair Housing Act has a two-year statute of limitations, the only properties properly at issue in the litigation were those designed or constructed within two years of the filing of the complaint. Judge Williams disagreed, holding that, "AvalonBay's discriminatory behavior did not 'terminate' until the construction of the last non-compliant building. Thus, the statute of limitations does not prevent the ERC from bringing claims based on the buildings constructed more than two years before the filing."
Kelley Drye's team on these pro bono matters includes partner John E. Heintz and associates Andrew S. Wein and Justin F. Lavella. The decision is available at The Equal Rights Center v. AvalonBay Communities, Inc., No. 05-2626, 2009 WL 1153397 (D. Md. March 23, 2009).
FULL STORY at metrocorpcounsel.com
Banks must obey state fair housing laws, court rules
(WASHINGTON, June 29, 2009)
-- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that states may investigate national banks to determine if they have discriminated against minorities seeking home loans, and bring charges against them if they have.
The ruling came in a case where a U.S. Appeals Court had blocked New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo from investigating or bringing enforcement action against national banks, which may have been violating fair housing statutes.
The ruling overturns a policy by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that prevented states from enforcing their own fair housing laws. Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the more conservative voices on the court, joined his four liberal colleagues in making the decision. Scalia said it would be "bizarre" to block states from enforcing valid, non-pre-emptive laws.
FULL STORY at consumeraffairs.com
HUD to assist 4,000 Americans with disabilities
(WASHINGTON, June 29, 2009)
-- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today joined President Obama's commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision by announcing that it will offer rental assistance to 4,000 non-elderly families with disabilities, including 1,000 vouchers specifically targeted to those transitioning out of nursing homes and other care facilities. Through its funding notice, HUD is seeking comment from public housing authorities and others to ensure this critically needed assistance is distributed and administered in the most effective manner possible.
Today's announcement coincides with the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in Olmstead v. L.C. & E.W. which affirmed the rights of individuals with disabilities to live independently. To commemorate this landmark decision, President Obama declared 2009 the Year of Community Living.
"As individuals with disabilities leave institutional care, it is essential that they have housing options that will allow them to live independently," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.
"As we prepare to launch this initiative, we also want to make certain that we get input from local housing experts, disability rights advocates and others who can help us target this assistance to those who need it most. We also recognize how important it is for HUD and HHS to coordinate our resources to enable community-living for those individuals that live with disabilities."
FULL STORY at clarksvilleonline.com
Kalamazoo poised to pass anti-discrimination ordinance
(KALAMAZOO, Mich., June 27, 2009)
-- Kalamazoo City Commissioner David Anderson predicts an amended ordinance extending discrimination protections to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals will be approved Monday perhaps unanimously by the City Commission.
Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, predicts petitions to allow voters to decide the issue will be on the streets Tuesday, leading to a ballot referendum in November.
Six months of public input and changes to the ordinance unanimously passed by city commissioners in December, then rescinded in January, appear to have changed few opinions on whether Kalamazoo should outlaw discrimination against homosexuals in employment, housing and access to public accommodations.
At its crux, the schism appears to be largely a religious divide. Ordinance opponents say the measure banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity will force the moral acquiescence of those whose religious beliefs call that an immoral lifestyle. Proponents say sexual orientation is not a reason to tolerate discrimination.
FULL STORY at mlive.com
Fair housing applies to all HOAs
(PHEONIX, Ariz., June 27, 2009)
-- What is fair housing, and how does it apply to community associations? We will be providing a series of tips on this issue, as many associations often don't realize that fair-housing laws apply to them or how they apply.
Under the Fair Housing Act (both federal and state), an association may not discriminate
"against any person in the terms, conditions or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in providing services or facilities in connection with the sale or rental, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status or national origin." Furthermore, an association cannot discriminate against a person in providing services or facilities in connection with the sale or rental because of disability.
Many people confuse the Americans with Disabilities Act with the Fair Housing Act. Although all associations are subject to the FHA, only a few are subject to the ADA. For an association to be subject to the ADA, it must be a "public accommodation." If an association's facilities are private and it does not make them available to the public, it is not a public accommodation.
FULL STORY at azcentral.com
Arizona investigating mortgage firms for fraud
(PHEONIX, Ariz., June 26, 2009)
-- Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said the state is investigating more than 50 mortgage modification and refinancing firms his office has received complaints about for ripping off consumers.
Though Goddard would not disclose which companies are under investigation, he said the biggest problems in the industry right now are third-party advocates that charge up-front fees of sometimes thousands of dollars and promise distressed homeowners reworked mortgages that lower payments to help forestall foreclosures.
The Better Business Bureau, Attorney General's Office and other consumer-protection groups say mortgage and refinancing-related complaints are way up, and consumers should be on the look out for unscrupulous businesses.
FULL STORY at triangle.bizjournals.com
Eric Holder lays out case for supporting hate crimes law
(WASHINGTON, June 25, 2009)
-- Today Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General, gave the following speech before the Senate in support of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.
Chairman Leahy, Ranking Member Sessions, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear here before you today to discuss S. 909, the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. This Administration strongly supports this vital legislation, which will help protect all Americans from the scourge of the most heinous bias-motivated violence.
Almost exactly eleven years ago, on July 8, 1998, I first testified before this Committee as Deputy Attorney General to urge passage of an almost identical bill. While it is unfortunate that eleven years have come and gone without this bill becoming law, I am confident that we can make the important protections that it offers a reality this year. Indeed, one of my highestpersonal priorities upon returning to the Justice Department is to do everything I can to help ensure that this legislation finally becomes law.
FULL STORY at opposingviews.com
Foreclosures affect more than property owners
(NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif., June 24, 2009)
-- When a man showed up at her apartment building one night claiming to be a bank representative with only a paper written by hand, Liset Herrera was not only surprised but distrustful.
"He said that we had to pay for five months of rent or we faced an eviction," says the 36-year-old mother of three.
It was the first time after nearly half a year that Hernandez learned that the apartment building in which she had lived since early 2008 had been foreclosed and a bank had taken ownership of it.
During all that time, no one had notified them of such a deal, nor when or to whom they would pay the $750 monthly rent on the two bedroom apartment at 5869 Whitnall Highway in North Hollywood.
FULL STORY at sanfernandosun.con
Homeless outrank codes, De Vaul legal efforts argue
(San Luis Obispo, Calif., June 24, 2009)
-- Rancher Dan De Vaul is challenging the very foundation of enforcing laws that dispossess the homeless, even if the dwellings they occupy are considered unsafe.
De Vaul and several of the homeless living on his property have sued the county, alleging that its efforts to bring his ranch into compliance with county codes violate federal, state and local laws.
The county's order to remove illegal mobile homes, garden sheds and recreational vehicles where homeless people have been staying is "an abatement of people, not junk," attorney Cynthia Hawley wrote in an e-mail to The Tribune. She is representing De Vaul in his suit. "A roof over the head of every person in this country is, by law, more important than enforcing nonessential permitting procedures," she wrote.
FULL STORY at sanluisobispo.com
Fair housing funding at risk
(COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 23, 2009)
-- Ohio could lose $1.3 million a year in federal funding used to investigate roughly 500 fair housing complaints unless the state strengthens its civil rights laws, officials said.
Recent state court rulings have weakened Ohio's fair housing laws to the point where state law no longer mirrors federal law, and money from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department may be pulled, according to Ohio Civil Rights Commission Director Michael Payton and Miami Valley Fair Housing Director Jim McCarthy.
"You take away those federal funds and it's almost like a fatal blow to the agency," Payton said. The Civil Rights Commission, which operates on an $8.8 million annual budget, is already laying off 32 of its 127 staff members, he said.
FULL STORY at daytondailynews.com
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