August 2006

Volume E2, No.7

EDITOR’S NOTE
Fear and loathing in property management
A
s I go out and talk to apartment
managers and other groups about
fair housing, I am often confronted
by what we in the fair housing community
refer to as “civil rights urban legends.”
Whenever I talk to my colleagues
about these urban legends, the same ones
seem to come up, in training sessions all
over the country. None of us have ever
been able to verify these myths, and we
are, for the most part, convinced that the
scenarios don’t exist but are perpetuated
by well-meaning “fair housing consultants”
or local fair housing trainers who wanted
to put a little shock and awe into their pre-
sentations.
The following list includes the myths
I hear most often.
1. The rental agent who was sued and
ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of
dollars for simply not offering a black ap-
plicant a cup of coffee.
While it’s true that folks like me in-
vestigating civil rights complaints compare
the treatment of different applicants, the
failure to offer a cup of coffee is hardly
enough for a lawsuit.
2. The maintenance man who was
sued for telling a dirty joke that was over-
heard by a female tenant.
Again, no one I know has ever been
able to verify that any complaint like this
was ever filed, much less carried through
to a settlement or judgment.
3. The rental agent who was sued for
saying, “Merry Christmas” to a non-
Christian tenant.
I’m not sure where this came from, but
I suspect it has something to do with the
much-hyped “War on Christmas” publi-
cized by cable news pundits.
I’m not sure which is more sad: the
fact that well-intentioned fair housing train-
ers keep perpetuating these myths, or the
fact that because people believe them, they
make the Fair Housing Act seem like an
irrational, overreaching law.
While all the scenarios above might
be noted in a much larger case of discrimi-
nation, the scenarios in and of themselves
August 2006
would not be enough to carry a fair hous-
ing claim in any forum. If I had a case of
discrimination where the leasing agent lied
about the availability of apartments to my
black investigators, while telling my white
investigators that there were plenty of
apartments available, and then I found out
that all white applicants were taken to the
community’s Starbucks-style coffee bar
while black applicants were simply told to
go away, then yes, maybe I would add that
to the complaint.
Simply not offering a cup of coffee to
a black applicant with no other evidence
of discrimination? There’s not a complaint
there.
The third scenario in the list leads me
to this month’s point. Housing providers,
be aware that there are fair trainers out
there who will take your money and steer
you wrong.
If you read this month’s article on page
11, you’ll see that an apartment manage-
ment company nearly faced a Fair Hous-
ing Act lawsuit, because it relied on fair
housing information obtained from a for-
profit training service.
Now, to be fair, I have tried to contact
the service to find out if it was their infor-
mation that was faulty, or if the manage-
ment company misinterpreted what the fair
housing consultants provided them. At
press time, I had not heard back from them,
so I don’t know for sure.
But, there’s something wrong if that
kind of fear and ambiguity is leading hous-
ing providers to make bad decisions. When
HUD was drawn into the matter, its attor-
neys made sure to point out that HUD
didn’t give money to or endorse the con-
sulting firm in question.
A little more than a year ago, I sat in
on a training session at an apartment asso-
ciation meeting where they played a fair
housing training video from a for-profit
consulting firm. The video was supposed
to prepare leasing agents prepare for vis-
its from undercover fair housing testers.
The video itself consisted of several
hidden camera clips of testers hired by the
NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE
consultants making contact with leasing
agents around the country. From my per-
spective, the video was both hilarious and
horrifying.
The testers in the clips used profan-
ity, asked leading questions to leasing
agents, and sought out maintenance per-
sonnel and other employees who wouldn’t
typically engage in the leasing process.
Those are all things that I would prohibit
my agency’s testers from doing.
Even though my testers would never
do such things (or, if they did, they would
be retrained or canned), I now had a room
full of leasing agents who were angry at
me, because the video they had just seen
painted fair housing agencies as aggressive
entrapment artists.
While some of my colleagues have
suggested that maybe it’s good for leasing
agents to think we are that bad, I told the
room that my testers simply didn’t act that
way. Putting false notions into people’s
heads doesn’t help my cause. It just makes
them angry and let’s them view me as an
adversary instead of an ally.
KUDOS TO KIM KENDRICK
Since taking over the office of Assis-
tant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity at HUD, Kim Kendrick’s of-
fice at HUD headquarters has issued more
useful policy guidance in a few months,
than her predecessors did in the ten years
I’ve been in this field.
As someone who complains about
HUD quite a bit, I think Kendrick deserves
a good deal of credit for making good policy
on issues that have been lingering for a long
time. I hope she continues that trend.
Tony Baize, Editor
tony@kyfhc.org
2
 CONTENTS
Features

6 $2M for liability insurance gaffe

Cover story: Adult family homes in Washington and Oregon found
themselves losing their liability insurance coverage when Western
World decided it no longer wanted to ensure mentally disabled
people. By Tony Baize

9 Liquidation to pay $310,000 judgment

A bankruptcy court in Iowa ordered the liquidation of real estate
holdings to pay off $310,000 in a sexual harassment lawsuit brought
by ten former female tenants.

11 Bible study returns to S.C. complex

Cover: photo of Nevels Adult A Spartanburg, S.C. complex has dropped its plans to ban all
Family Services in Seattle, Wash.
religious activities at the complex after coming under fire from
state and federal officials.
NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE
Volume E2, Number 7
August 2006
14 Former cop guilty of FHA violations
Jeffrey Shifler, a former Hagerstown, Md. police officer, pled guilty
Editor/Publisher Tony Baize (tony@kyfhc.org)
to violating the Fair Housing Act after threatening to burn down
an African American city councilwoman’s home.
Contributing Editor Tracey McCartney
(tracey@fairhousing.com)
15 HUD HQ issues guidance on HOPA
Legal Consultant Paul F. Curry HUD headquarters has issued a policy memo on when and if
communities can convert to senior housing as defined by the
Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995. .

KENTUCKY FAIR HOUSING COUNCIL

The National Fair Housing Advocate is a publica-
tion of the Kentucky Fair Housing Council and is Departments
dedicated to educating the public about fair hous-
ing issues and providing pertinent information to
civil rights advocates, attorneys and real estate pro-
fessionals. The ultimate goal of this publication is
Editor’s Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
to eliminate the need for itself through the eradica-
In Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
tion of discrimination in housing. Case Law Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Brief Articles of Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Tony Baize, Executive Director

Board of Directors
The National Fair Housing Advocate (ISSN 1932-2216 print, ISSN 1932-2224 online)
Janet Wrightsel, Chair is published monthly by the Kentucky Fair Housing Council. Editorial, advertising and
Cecil Blye, Sr., Vice Chair all other inquiries should be sent to P.O. Box 1293, Louisville, KY 40201 E-mail:
Stephen Porter, Treasurer advocate@kyfhc.org, voice: (502) 583-3247, fax (805) 357-5959
Oliver Barber
William Haliday Subscription rates are $150 per year for online access, $200 per year for online access
Ricky Jones and full-color copy via postal mail. Make checks or money orders payable to “Kentucky
John R. Williams Fair Housing Council” and mail to P.O. Box 1293, Louisville, KY 40201. To subscribe
Ann Wagner using a credit card, visit www.fairhousing.com/advocate.
Richard Miller
Ralph Calvin Copyright © 2006. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reprinted
Rev. Louis Coleman without permission from the publisher, except for fair use purposes.

This publication is reader supported. No public money has been used. The opinions of
commentators are not necessarily those of the Kentucky Fair Housing Council.

August 2006 NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE 3


FLA. COUNTY SEEKS CONSOLIDATION OF FAIR HOUSING LAWSUITS
Sarasota County filed motions earlier this month with the
Federal District Court in Tampa to consolidate two lawsuits filed
against the county by Renaissance Manor and the United States
Department of Justice. Both cases seek to end allegedly dis-
criminatory application of local zoning laws under the Federal
Fair Housing Act.
The plaintiffs argue that the county must permit six adjacent
group care homes, designed to treat recovering addicts, in a single-
family neighborhood. Sarasota County zoning requires a 1,000-
foot separation between such group care homes. (Source: Venice
Gondolier-Sun)
INDIANA ADDS MORE NEW HOUSES THAN NEW PEOPLE
From 2000 to 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau recorded
148,500 new housing units added in Indiana. That's a 5.8 per-
cent rate of growth (16th in the U.S.), exceeding the national rate
of 5.3 percent.
During the same period, Indiana added 134,600 people, a
2.2 percent increase (33rd in the U.S.) and just more than half
the 4.1 percent national rate. For every person Indiana added,
Hoosiers built 1.1 housing units, the 10th highest rate in the na-
tion. (Source: Northwest Indiana Times)
CINCINNATI’S NEW CIVIL RIGHTS ORDINANCE CHALLENGED
A group that wants to put the city’s new equal rights ordi-
nance to a vote in November has only two signatures more than
the minimum needed to do so.
Challenges to some of the signatures may lower the number
even more, allowing the measure passed in March to take effect
without an election. The new ordinance added sexual orienta-
tion and gender identity to the city’s laws banning discrimina-
tion in housing, employment and public accommodations.
The ordinance’s backers, however, are not waiting to find
out. They are going ahead with their election campaign.
Equal Rights Not Special Rights, a group opposed to the
ordinance, turned in 7,656 valid signatures for the referendum,
the Hamilton County Board of Elections announced June 20.
This is two signatures over 10% of the total city votes in the last
governor’s election--the number required by law to move for-
ward with the vote.
However, ordinance supporters intend to challenge many of
them for violating Ohio election law.
Cincinnati attorney Jennifer Branch, who represents the pro-
ordinance Citizens to Restore Fairness, says she has counted at
least 879 signatures that should be rejected because the signa-
ture gatherers changed what the voters wrote on their form.
Equal Rights Not Special Rights, formed by anti-gay cru-
sader Phil Burress of suburban Sharonville, paid workers to gather
the signatures. (Source: Gay People’s Chronicle)
August 2006 NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE
HUD PROJECT SALE HALTED IN PITTSBURGH
A federal judge has delayed the sale of a Pittsburgh housing
project until she can hold a hearing this month to learn more
about the deal.
U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose issued a temporary
restraining order last month stopping the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development from holding a foreclosure sale
of the Third East Hills Park project.
Eight residents objected to the sale, saying it violates
federal fair housing laws and others that govern reloca-
tion of residents.
HUD wants to sell the property to the city's Urban Redevel-
opment Authority for $1, then give the authority a $3 million
grant to tear it down.
The authority hopes to sell the property to Telesis Corp. a
development company that already owns a neighboring housing
project. (Source: Associated Press)
CONN. RECOVERY HOUSE RESIDENTS IGNORE CITY ORDER
The women living in the Norwich Sober Living Community
ignored a city order to move out of their home or reduce the
number of occupants to five. The city set a deadline last month
for the home after it rejected the group home operator’s request
for a zoning variance to allow it to exist within 1,000 feet of
another group care home.
Norwich’s zoning regulations require group care homes to
be at least 1,000 feet apart. The Sober Living Community is
approximately 800 feet from another group care home.
The Connecticut Fair Housing Center, based in Hartford,
has asked that Norwich officials grant the home a reasonable
accommodation under the Fair Housing Act and allow it to con-
tinue to operate without interruption or a reduction in the num-
ber of residents.
Attorneys for the city have said that they will take no action
against the home until they have had time to review the reason-
able accommodation request. (Source: The Norwich Bulletin)
PHILADELPHIA’S FIRST INTEGRATED NEIGHBORHOOD TURNS 50
Greenbelt Knoll, a 19-home subdivision near Philadelphia’s
Pennypack Park, was developed in 1956 by open housing pio-
neer Morris Milgram, who required 55 percent of the homes be
sold to whites, and 45 percent to nonwhites. It remains inte-
grated to this day.
In honor of Greenbelt Knoll's 50th anniversary, several neigh-
bors petitioned the city to designate the community a historic
district. In June, the Philadelphia Historical Commission ap-
proved the application, effectively protecting Greenbelt Knoll
against physical alterations and demolition. Now residents are
pursuing similar recognition from the state.
“The people who moved there were swimming against a very
powerful tide in the 1950s,” says Dr. Thomas Sugrue, a history
professor at the University of Pennsylvania who's writing a book
on civil rights in the North. “Their actions were as important as
the freedom marches in Mississippi.”
Unlike Milgram's other developments, Greenbelt Knoll re-
mains racially integrated, although only one original homeowner
still lives there. (Many others have died). With a few exceptions,
the homes have retained their original exteriors. (Source: Phila-
delphia Weekly)
4
SIERRA CLUB AND KATRINA VICTIMS SUE TRAILER MAKERS

An environmental group has found high levels of formalde-

hyde in travel trailers used by Hurricane Katrina victims in Mis-
sissippi, which has spawned court action against the travel trailer
manufacturers.

The Mississippi Sierra Club tested the air quality in 31 travel
trailers and found all but two had formaldehyde levels at or above
those recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency.
In addition to embalming, the pungent chemical has a vari-
ety of other uses. Formaldehyde-based glues are used to make
particle boards and paneling widely used in cabinets, countertops,
moldings, furniture, shelf and stair systems, flooring and many
other household furnishings, according to the Formaldehyde
Council's Web site.
Formaldehyde's unpleasant odor, emitted from the panel-
ing, and its subsequent health effects are the reason some Mis-
sissippi residents, who have been living in FEMA travel trailers
since Hurricane Katrina devastated their homes, are suing the
trailers' manufacturers and the Federal Emergency Management
Agency. (Source: The Beaumont Enterprise)
MAINE CANDIDATES ATTEND ANTIDISCRIMINATION RALLY
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Late last month in Maine, Green Independent Party guber- SUBSCRIBE NOW! (Makes a great gift!)
natorial nominee Patricia LaMarche joined Democratic Gov. John
E. Baldacci at an antidiscrimination rally in Portland. The event Name _______________________________________
was called in response to a vandalism incident in Portland that
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Maine Democratic Party Chairman Ben Dudley of Portland
chided GOP nominee Chandler Woodcock for attending a festi- Address _____________________________________
val with U.S. Senator John McCain instead of the Portland rally.
“Why doesn't Chandler Woodcock stand with us against the City, State, ZIP _______________________________
hate crimes we saw in the news?” he asked in a prepared state-
ment. “Senator McCain believes that writing discrimination into Phone (____)_________________________________
the Constitution is wrong; what is Woodcock's stance?”
Woodcock said the vandalism incident was “a despicable e-mail address ________________________________
act” condoned by no one and that he supported the prosecution
of those responsible “to the fullest extent of the law.”
Emphasizing that he already had committed to the Yarmouth __ Online only - $150 per year (12 issues)
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cock said there was at least one more reason he wasn't in Port- __ Online + paper copy - $200 per year (12 issues)
land on Saturday.
“The governor didn't give me an invitation,” Woodcock said. Make check or money order payable to “Kentucky Fair Housing Coun-
Maine added sexual orientation to its statewide civil rights cil” and mail to P.O. Box 1293, Louisville, KY 40201. To subscribe
laws in April 2005. (Sources: Bangor Daily News; Lambda online via credit card, visit www.fairhousing.com/advocate.
Legal Defense and Education Fund)

CONN. WOMAN TOLD TO REMOVE DOLLS FROM APARTMENT

According to an Associated Press article, Emily Gibbons

has been collecting dolls for 15 years, amassing about 200 of
them in her public housing apartment.
But, the 73-year-old woman is now in trouble with the Green-
wich, Conn. Housing Authority. Housing officials said the doll
collection cluttered her unit and was a fire hazard. Officials threat-
© http://www.flickr.com/people/alana_pix/

ened to evict Gibbons if she didn't clear the clutter.

Gibbons packed away all but about 20 dolls and is tempo-
rarily storing the rest at her daughter's home.
Housing officials will inspect her apartment every two
months. Officials said Gibbons passed her most recent inspec-
tion. (Source: Associated Press)

August 2006 NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE 5


W
estern World Insurance Company has agreed to settle
a federal Fair Housing Act lawsuit for $2 million. The
suit, a joint effort between the Fair Housing Center of
Washington and the Fair Housing Council of Oregon, alleged
that Western World systematically canceled the insurance poli-
cies of businesses that provided housing services to persons with
mental disabilities.
In 2002, the Fair Housing Center of Washington (FHCW)
(formerly the Fair Housing Center of South Puget Sound) re-
ceived a phone call from the Clark County, Wash. ombudsman
for long term care. He told FHCW staff that he had been receiv-
ing calls from group care homes that served people with mental
disabilities who said that Western World was canceling their com-
mercial liability policies, and would no longer insure homes for
persons with mental disabilities.
Soon after, FHCW began receiving phone calls from other
group care home operators, who said that their liability policies
had been canceled, because Western World would not insure
people with mental disabilities. FHCW launched an intense in-
vestigation into Western World’s policies.
Through research with the Washington Department of Health
and Social Services, FHCW found that Western World canceled
more than 150 insurance policies for group care homes between
2000 and 2002. FHCW filed fair housing complaints against
Western World with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) in November 2002.
In 2003, the Fair Housing Council of Oregon (FHCO) was
contacted by the Oregon Advocacy Center, a nonprofit agency
serving persons with disabilities. The Center told FHCO that it
August 2006 NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE
Lord’s Hill House
had been receiving calls from group care home operators as-
serting that their insurance policies were being canceled by
Western World.
The FHCO conducted its own investigation of Western World
and filed complaints with HUD in May 2003.
In May 2004, both FHCW and FHCO, together with several
group care home operators, filed a federal class action lawsuit
against Western World, seeking an end to Western World’s
policies against persons with mental disabilities and unspeci-
fied damages.
Western World moved to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing
that because the insurance policies in question were liability poli-
cies and not homeowners policies, they were not covered by the
Fair Housing Act. In a motion to dismiss, Western World’s attor-
neys argued that FHCW and FHCO were attempting an “incred-
ible expansion” of the Fair Housing Act.
Western World’s attorneys also argued that the federal
McCarran-Ferguson Act required states to regulate insurance and
therefore nullified the federal Fair Housing Act.
In its motion to dismiss, Western World did not deny its dis-
criminatory policies against persons with mental disabilities.
A GROUNDBREAKING COURT RULING
Citing Wai v. Allstate, a case from Washington, D.C., U.S.
District Judge Thomas Zilly denied the insurance company’s mo-
tion to dismiss.
Zilly wrote, “If, in order to rent to disabled persons, a land-
lord must risk losing her home through loss of mortgage financ-
ing, loss of catastrophe insurance, and loss of liability insurance,
6
she will be disinclined to rent to disabled fair housing victories against residents with mental
persons... Such a requirement would directly property and casualty insur- disabilities in her home.
contravene the purposes of the FHA.” ers,” Dane observed. Nevels was confused
Zilly continued, “Although the insurance Earlier this year, Relman by the notice, because
at issue in Wai was a form of property insur- and Associates scored a vic- she had never filed a
ance, the court’s reasoning holds true in the tory against Prudential Insur- claim with Western
instant matter. By cancelling Plaintiffs’ liabil- ance, after a federal court in World and couldn’t un-
ity insurance, Defendant created a powerful Washington allowed the Na- derstand why they
disincentive to provide care for disabled in- tional Fair Housing Alliance would cancel her
dividuals. Plaintiffs Nevels and Fritz, now and four of its member agen- policy. Nevels asserted
without liability insurance, face signifi- cies to proceed against the in her complaint against
cant financial risk, and their ability to pro- company. Western World that she
vide housing for disabled individuals is Jesse Wing, a Seattle- would have been forced
threatened. based attorney who acted as to evict her mentally
“Defendant counters that the nexus be- local counsel in the case, disabled residents in
tween cancelling liability insurance and mak- echoed his colleagues from violation of the Fair
ing housing unavailable is to attenuated to Relman and Associates Housing Act in order to
Pegge McGuire, executive director,
support FHA liability because liability insur- about the importance of Fair Housing Council of Oregon keep her policy with
ance is not related directly to Plaintiffs’ own- Zilly’s ruling. “The ruling on Western World.
ership of their houses. However, Plaintiffs the motion to dismiss was very powerful and Nevels managed to find another insur-
Nevels and Fritz now bear the risks and costs very critical to this case,” Wing said. “It ance company that would insure her group
for all injury, loss, or damage other than that breaks new ground and it tells insurers care home, but at a significantly higher cost.
provided for by property or hazard insurance. around the country that professional liabil- When the state of Washington eliminated the
This undoubtedly could make owning and ity insurance is covered under the Fair Hous- regulation requiring group care homes to
retaining real property unavailable; simply ing Act.” carry liability insurance, Nevels canceled her
preventing foreclosure is not sufficient to Even with that powerful ruling, accord- policy, because it was so expensive.
make housing unavailable.” ing to Wing, the parties still engaged in an Karla Caraño owns and operates Lord’s
John P. Relman of Relman and Associ- intense discovery process to bring both sides Hill House, a group care home in Sohomish,
ates, plaintiffs’ lead counsel, remarked on the “close to a settlement.” Wash. Lord’s Hill House caters to the needs
importance of Zilly’s decision for other vic- “Western World had the attitude that their of persons with mental disabilities and
tims of insurance discrimination around the experience in the insurance field told them houses up to six residents. Caraño is a reg-
country. “We believe that insurance discrimi- that their discrimination was justifiable,” istered nurse who specializes in care for per-
nation on the basis of disability is wide- Wing said. “They kept telling us that they sons with mental disabilities.
spread, and this well-reasoned opinion will had evidence to show that residents with In November 2002, Caraño received a
put insurance companies on notice that fed- mental illness create greater risk and that was notice from Western World indicating that a
eral courts will not permit these business what excused and justified their behavior.” “physical inspection” of her home revealed
practices to continue,” Relman said. “What we found through discovery,” a “resident diagnossed (sic) as schizophre-
Attorney Stephen Dane of Relman and Wing continued, “was that they had no such nia (sic).”
experience. They had no Caraño also reported difficulty in find-
actuarial tables or aggre- ing replacement insurance, and eventually
gate data to show that purchased a policy for nearly double what
they had paid out more her Western World policy had cost.
when claims involved Caraño also dropped her liability insur-
persons with mental dis- ance coverage when the state of Washing-
abilities.” ton suspended the requirement that group
Regarding the settle- care homes carry it.
ment, Wing said that it Maria Fritz is the owner of Fritz Care
showed insurance compa- Services in Kent, Wash. Fritz Care Services
nies “discrimination is a operates a five-bedroom group care home
very costly enterprise” for persons with mental or physical disabili-
and that persons with ties. At the time of the lawsuit, Fritz Care
mental disabilities “will Services had five residents.
be defended.” In December 2002, Fritz received a no-
tice from Western World that stated, “West-
Lauren Walker (right) is the executive director of the Fair Housing BACKGROUND ern World Insurance Company no longer
Center of Washington, which was formerly the Fair Housing Center Penny Nevels, the writes adult family homes licensed with the
of South Puget Sound. In this 2005 photo, Walker chats with Wayne owner of a group care mental illness designation.”
Dawson, executive director of the Savannah-Chatham County (Ga.)
home in Seattle, received Fritz scrambled to find replacement in-
Fair Housing Council.
a notice from Western surance, eventually buying a policy that cost
Associates noted that Zilly’s decision was World in November 2002 stating that her in- her five times what she had been paying for
one in a recent pattern of insurance victories surance would be canceled, because she had her Western World policy.
for fair housing advocates. “This is just the a “mental illness designation” on the license “We’re not talking about folks outside
most recent favorable decision in a series of of her group care home. Nevels had two (continued on next page)

August 2006 NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE 7

 Western World Moloy Good, the test
coordinator for FHCO,
MORE DISCRIMINATION EXISTS
McGuire and Wing both asserted that

settles for $2M

said he hoped the settle- there are other insurance companies around
ment would change the the country who engage in discrimination
(continued) behavior of insurance against persons with disabilities.
the mainstream of society,” Wing said of the companies that might discriminate. “People “Western World is just the first company
disabled residents at the heart of the litiga- with mental illnesses are entitled to hous- we decided to pursue,” McGuire said. “Fair
tion. “We all have friends or relatives with ing and folks who provide them shelter housing advocates need to be cognizant of
depression or anxiety. Mental disabilities are entitled to insurance for that shelter,” that and look into the practices of the insur-
touch most of us. We have an aging popula- Good said in an interview on Oregon Pub- ance companies in their areas.”
tion in this country, and many of us are go- lic Broadcasting. Wing added, “There are more companies
ing to live in these adult family homes.” Pegge McGuire, FHCO’s executive di- out there who are still openly engaging in
The Western World Insurance Group rector echoed Walker’s sentiment about the these types of discriminatory underwriting
is based in Franklin Lakes, N.J. and writes discrimination. “We were just shocked about guidelines. Either they don’t know it’s ille-
insurance under the Western World, how widespread it was,” she said. gal, or they don’t care.” Wing said that
Stratford, Westco, and McGuire said that her states’ departments of insurance web sites
Tudor nameplates. agency did testing but it often reveal that companies’ underwriting
In 2005, the company was inconclusive. “It was guidelines exclude persons with mental and
reported $28 million in difficult to test this physical disabilities.
profits with $311 million in policy,” McGuire said. “The Fair Housing Act protects people
revenue. The company has “We had a tough time de- with disabilities from those who would deny
$1.3 billion in assets. termining if the discrimi- them housing opportunities,” said Kim
As part of the settle- nation started with the in- Kendrick, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Fair
ment, the plaintiffs and surance brokers or with Housing and Equal Opportunity. “Denying
Western World agreed to the underwriters. Fortu- a person insurance coverage on the basis of
establish a settlement fund nately, Lauren Walker’s that person's disability is against the law. It
for the benefit of all other group was able to get all is important to educate insurance companies
adult family home opera- the information it did about the rights of people with disabilities
tors in Washington and Or- from the state of Wash- to make sure they are treated equally.” The
egon who received a notice ington.” McGuire said HUD complaints initially filed by FHCW
of cancellation non-re- that unlike the state of and FHCO were withdrawn so the parties
newal of insurance cover- Washington, the state of could proceed in federal court.
Attorney Jesse Wing of Seattle firm
age from Western World MacDonald, Hoague & Bayless Oregon did not require Western World declined to comment for
between Jan. 1, 2002, and represented the plaintiffs. insurance carriers to this story.
May 7, 2004 that made send cancellation no- According to 2003 estimates by the U.S.
reference to mental illness or a mental tices to state officials. Census, an estimated 7,150 “assisted living
illness designation associated with the McGuire said that FHCW’s enforcement facilities” exist in the United States housing
customer’s adult residential care facil- coordinator had worked in the insurance in- 531,625 senior and disabled residents. Ad-
ity license. dustry for many years and was able decipher ditionally, there are 2,150 Continuing Care
Western World also agreed to comply much of the evidence and information gath- Retirement Communities (CCRC) in the
with the Fair Housing Act in the future, pro- ered during the case. U.S., containing 613,625 units. CCRCs of-
vide disability rights education and training According to McGuire, the work of fer assisted living and independent living
to all of its supervisory employees and of- Relman and Associates pushed Western units in one complex.
ficers engaged in underwriting or pricing World to come to the settlement table. “We Approximately 98 percent of the resi-
insurance to congregate living providers, really thought they were going to go to liti- dents in assisted living facilities are age 55
and to establish procedures designed to gation on this,” McGuire said. or older, according to Census data.
track and report all claims of discrimina- For more information about facilities
tion under the Fair Housing Act by its cus- SETTLEMENT NEWS NOT REACHING AGENTS specializing in providing housing and care
tomers or applicants. Calls to several independent agents who for seniors with disabilities, visit the Ameri-
According to Lauren Walker, executive write Western World policies seemed to in- can Seniors Housing Association website at
director of the Fair Housing Center of Wash- dicate that news of the settlement had not www.seniorshousing.org.
ington, the lawsuit exposed and ended the yet reached them. Sandy Baxter, a Greens- The plaintiffs in this case were repre-
company's practice of terminating and refus- boro, N.C. branch manager for the Swett & sented by the Washington, D.C.-based civil
ing to renew insurance coverage for adult Crawford insurance brokerage said he had not rights law firm, Relman & Associates
family homes serving people with mental ill- heard of the settlement and that no word of (www.relmanlaw.com) and by Jesse Wing of
nesses. “We were surprised how blatant the any Western World policy changes had the Seattle-based firm, MacDonald, Hoague
discrimination was,” she said, after find- reached his office. & Bayless (www.mhb.com).
ing more than 150 notices terminating or “It might have reached the home of-
non-renewing insurance coverage. fice,” Baxter said, “but nothing’s filtered Tony Baize is the Editor of the National
“Some notices even agreed to continue down to me.” Fair Housing Advocate, the Executive Di-
coverage if the operators agreed to get rid Joe Miller, an underwriter with Market rector of the Kentucky Fair Housing Coun-
of their residents with mental illnesses,” Finders Insurance Services in Louisville, Ky. cil, and board member of the National Fair
Walker added. had also not heard of the settlement. Housing Alliance.

August 2006 NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE 8

 Bankruptcy court orders landlords’ assets liquidated to
pay $310,000 to ten Iowa women in harassment suit
B
ack in June, the Bankruptcy Court for and federal civil rights laws prohibit sexual coerce conduct on the part of tenants. “This
the Southern District of Iowa ap- harassment in housing situations, and civil court finds John Burche has physically as-
proved the final report in the bank- rights agencies take these requirements very saulted some of his tenants by placing his
ruptcy of IJP, Inc., authorizing the distribution seriously. Landlords, managers and tenants hands upon them, kissing them and, in once
to satisfy claims of unsecured creditors. all need to be aware of these requirements instance, forcing sexual intercourse,” Nahra
The Bankruptcy Court approved distri- so such sexual harassment will not occur.” said in his order.
bution of $310,000, $10,000 civil penalties The Civil Rights Division of the Iowa At- In August 2004, Burche was ordered to
each to the State of Iowa and the Davenport torney General’s Office filed two civil rights spend 30 days in jail for violating the court
Civil Rights Commission, and a total of lawsuits in 2001 alleging order, following a two-day
$290,000 to ten women who were aggrieved Burche and his wife, Maura contempt of court hearing.
by the housing practices of John Burche. Burche, and their company, John Burche and Maura
These “unsecured creditors” consisted for IJP, Inc., engaged in a pat- Burche were held in con-
the most part of women who had filed sexual tern or practice of discrimi- tempt of court for failing
harassment claims against John Burche in- nation against two female to hire an independent
dividually, and as a principal of IJP, Inc. tenants in violation of the management firm for their
In a case tried in the Iowa District Court Iowa Civil Rights Act. 9 rental properties in Dav-
in Scott County in January 2004, judgment District Court Judge enport, as the judge had
was entered against John and Maura Burche John Nahra conducted a ordered in January.
and IJP, Inc., finding a pattern and practice two-day trial in January Maura Burche received a
of sexual harassment of tenants in housing 2 0 0 4 , w h i c h a l s o i n - ten-day jail term with the
owned by IJP, Inc., and managed by John cluded testimony by eight other female ten-day sentence suspended.
Burche. That judgment included awards of former tenants. In September 2004, the Burches sought
$10,000 compensatory and $25,000 punitive Judge Nahra ruled that IJP and the a Chapter 11 (reorganization) bankruptcy for
damages to both Jeannie Dobbs and Dawn Burches could no longer have any contact their business, IJP, Inc. The U.S. Bankruptcy
Halligan, a permanent in- with tenants or prospec- Trustee named in the matter sought conver-
junction barring the defen- tive tenants, and could no sion of the case to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liq-
dants from managing resi- longer manage IJP’s nine uidation) in part on the basis that the case was
dential rental properties, rental properties. Nahra filed in an attempt to avoid the civil rights judg-
and a civil penalty to the ordered the $50,000 civil ment and injunction and payment orders is-
State of $50,000. penalty for engaging in a sued by Judge Nahra in January 2004.
The Bankruptcy Court pattern or practice of dis- On June 7, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge
approved distribution of crimination, and ordered Lee Jackwig approved the distribution of all
$310,000 — $290,000 to that each of the two of IJP Inc.’s remaining assets of $310,000.
Dobbs, Halligan and eight women who brought the The distribution will provide $35,000 each
other women who were suit should receive to the two original women complainants,
aggrieved by the housing $35,000 in compensatory $35,000 each to two other women, and
practices of John Burche, and punitive damages. The $25,000 each to the other six women who
and $10,000 civil penal- other women who testified were aggrieved by the practices and who
ties to the State and to the but did not file lawsuits did testified in the original trial. The Bankruptcy
Davenport Civil Rights not receive any damages order also included payments of $10,000
Commission. under the ruling. each to the State and the Davenport Civil
The Bankruptcy Court Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller Nahra said in his ruling, Rights Commission, which had handled an-
approved the $35,000 dis- “The defendants’ conduct other matter related to discrimination com-
tributions to Dobbs and Halligan, $35,000 of preying upon poor and desperate women plaints against the Burches and IJP, Inc.
to two other women claimants, and $25,000 with few housing options, of holding the “Iowa is a state that stands up to sexual
each to six other women who had claimed prospect of homelessness over their heads harassment and discrimination,” said Ralph
sexual harassment and discrimination by as John Burche seeks to coerce sexual fa- Rosenberg, the Executive Director of the
Burche and his business. The State of Iowa vors from them, of . . . withdrawing perks or Iowa Civil Rights Commission. “The Com-
compromised its claim from $50,000 to benefits as they held out against his sexual mission intends to enforce Iowa’s antidis-
$10,000 so more of the bankruptcy money demands, surely ranks at the highest level of crimination statutes and cases like this un-
would be available to the individual claimants. reprehensible conduct.” ambiguously show our ability to successfully
Assistant Attorney General Teresa Nahra said that various actions by John argue these cases,” Rosenberg added.
Baustian, who handled the matter on behalf Burche constituted a pattern of harassment Rosenberg praised the efforts of lead in-
of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, is in terms of housing discrimination, includ- vestigator Sherry Williams at the Iowa Com-
slated to delivered the $190,000 in checks ing promising rent reduction in exchange for mission and Judy Morrell, the executive di-
to the claimants on June 14 in Davenport. sex; promising gifts in exchange for private rector of the Davenport Civil Rights Com-
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said, meetings, lunches or sex; entering proper- mission, who opened the case and forwarded
“This action was based on the fact that state ties without notice; and using utility bills to it to the state Commission.

August 2006 NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE 9

 NAACP honors Fred Gray, civil rights lawyer who
represented Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King
A
t last month’s annual convention, represented Martin Luther King, Jr. numer- Gray, a father of four, served in the Ala-
NAACP President & CEO Bruce S. ous times in court. bama state legislature from 1970 to 1974 as
Gordon handed long-time Alabama He attended his first NAACP conven- one of the first two African Americans
attorney Fred Gray the William Robert Ming tion in San Francisco in 1956, shortly af- elected since Reconstruction. In 1973, he un-
Advocacy Award. ter which the Montgomery bus boycott successfully introduced a bill to make the
“Fred Gray is a civil rights battle insider began. “I accept this on behalf of those cli- third Monday in January a state holiday in
who made the movement and justice his life’s ents who in the last 50 years allowed me to honor of King. His autobiography, Bus Ride
work,” said NAACP Chief Counsel to Justice, was published in 1994.
Dennis C. Hayes. “He took his great The American Bar Association
successes in modest stride and used awarded Gray of Tuskegee, Ala., its
them to fuel more achievement. He 2004 Thurgood Marshall Award. Estab-
is a counselor, a mentor, friend and lished in 1992, the Thurgood Marshall
inspiration.” Award recognizes long-term contribu-
“Why do I cherish this award?” tions to the advancement of civil rights,
Gray asked. “The NAACP was the civil liberties, and human rights in the
first civil rights organization I knew United States.
about growing up in the ghettos of Ala- Started in 1974, the William Rob-
bama. This organization gave me the in- ert Ming Advocacy Award is given to
spiration to smash every discriminatory an individual in the legal profession
action I could.” who exemplifies the spirit of financial

© NAACP
Gray represented Rosa Parks fol- and personal sacrifice that Ming dis-
lowing her historic refusal to relinquish played in his legal work for the NAACP.
a seat on a Montgomery, Ala. transit NAACP General Counsel Dennis Hayes, Ming Awardee Ming was one of the architects in
bus in 1955. Gray said he visited New Fred Gray, NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, and NAACP strategizing Brown v. Board of Educa-
York to personally consult with President and CEO Bruce S. Gordon tion, NAACP v. State of Alabama, and
Thurgood Marshall, then NAACP chief serve them,” Gray told the audience of other landmark decisions.
counsel, and other NAACP attorneys about nearly 2,000. Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the
that case and the bus boycott. “They com- Gray was born in Montgomery, Ala. in nation’s oldest and largest civil rights orga-
mitted themselves to that case,” Gray said. 1930, earned his B.A. from Alabama State nization. Its members throughout the United
“This organization has helped me help oth- College in 1951 and his LL.B. from Case States and the world are the premier advo-
ers and I’m appreciative for that.” Western Reserve University in 1954. After cates for civil rights in their communities,
His work was also demonstrated in the passing bar examinations in Ohio and Ala- conducting voter mobilization and monitor-
Tuskegee Syphilis Study class-action law- bama, Gray moved back to Montgomery to ing equal opportunity in the public and pri-
suits against the federal government and he start his law practice. vate sectors.

Bank of America donates $200,000 to National Civil

Rights Museum at Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn.
B
ank of America, the Charlotte, N.C.-
based financial services giant, an-
nounced that it was donating
$200,000 to the National Civil Rights Mu-
seum in Memphis, Tenn. The mu-
seum in on the site of the Lorraine
Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. was assassinated in 1968. The do-
nation represents the largest corporate
donation to the museum.
Bank of America’s donation will
support the Living History Theater and King
Holiday programs at the museum, and will
subsidize discounted admissions on Martin
Luther King Day.
Beverly Robinson, museum president,
said in a statement that the Living History
Theater is one of the most requested features
from visitors. In 1982, the Memphis-based Martin
“The grant from Bank of America will Luther King Memorial Foundation pur-
mean more people, especially our young chased the Lorraine Motel for $144,000 at
people, can learn about the civil rights move- a foreclosure auction. Of that amount,
$69,000 came from the fundraising
efforts of Foundation members. In
addition, $25,000 was donated by the
American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees
Never forget (AFSCME) and $10,000 was do-
nated by Lucky Hearts Cosmetics, a
ment in a manner that is sure to resonate in business located across the street from the
their hearts and minds. It’s creative, it’s emo- Lorraine. The remaining $50,000 was loaned
tional and it makes an impact,” she said. by Tri-State Bank and secured jointly by
In 1999, the Bank of America Founda- AFSCME and Lucky Hearts.
tion sponsored the largest exhibit of African For more information about the National
and African American art ever displayed at Civil Rights Museum, visit its website at
the museum. www.civilrightsmuseum.org.

August 2006 NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE 10

 Southern management co. backs off religious services
ban after clarification from HUD, national pressure
E
arlier this year, a controversy sur- would not be prosecuted for Fair Hous- available to all residents “without regard to
rounding a Bible study at Heritage ing Act violations for allowing the Bible their religion,” there was not a violation of
Court Apartments in Spartanburg, studies. the Fair Housing Act. “If a housing provider
S.C. erupted when One Management, the Ra- One Management pointed to fair hous- opens access to community facilities to resi-
leigh, N.C.-based property administrator, ing training materials it received from the dents of one religion, the housing provider
sent notice to all residents saying that reli- Fair Housing Institute of Norcross, Ga. The must provide that access on a non-discrimi-
gious services would not be allowed on the Fair Housing Institute (FHI) is a for-profit natory basis to residents of other religions,”
property. The notice stated that the man- training center that was
agement team intended to keep the complex started by former HUD attor-
“religion neutral.” neys who now specialize in
The notice, in which One Management defending property owners
cited the Fair Housing Act for the policy and managers when they are
change, upset the 20 members of a weekly sued for discrimination.
Bible study group at the complex. The group According to FHI train-
didn’t take the news lying down and un- ing materials, there was “a
leashed a firestorm upon One Management dramatic increase” in reli-

http://www.flickr.com/people/cameradawktor/
through the media and elected officials. gious discrimination com-
Within a few hours of a story appearing plaints during the 2005
in the Spartanburg Heritage-Journal on May Christmas season. The FHI
10, One Management pulled the ban on reli- materials encouraged hous-
gious services. The company told residents ing providers to adopt “reli-
that it still planned to move forward with its gion neutral” policies and to
“religion neutral” policy, but that the group take down any overtly reli-
could continue to meet while the company gious decorations. The ma-
Weekly Bible studies at Heritage Court Apartments in
sought legal clarification. terials don’t mention Bible Spartanburg, S.C. have been reinstated following a letter from
Within a week of the story, One Manage- studies, but One Manage- HUD to the complex’s management company. The company
ment was feeling heat from politicians in South ment interpreted the materi- claimed it had received inaccurate information from a fair
Carolina and Washington, D.C. South Caro- als as saying they could lead housing consulting firm.
lina Attorney General Henry McMaster threat- to discrimination complaints.
ened One Management with a civil rights law- According to One Management Vice Cruciani continued.
suit unless it dropped its policy. President Jenny Petri, the company was not Cruciani’s letter also advised Petri that
U.S. Congressman Bob Inglis sent a even aware of the Heritage Court Bible religious services and other activities can be
strongly worded letter to One Management study. Petri told the Heritage-Journal that listed in the community’s newsletter and on
telling them to rein- she sent letters of the religion community calendars, but that Heritage
state the Bible study neutral policy to all of One Court should include a statement with
on a permanent ba- Management’s properties in those materials indicating that discrimi-
sis, and went on to North Carolina, South Carolina, nation on the basis of religion is not al-
contact the U.S. De- and Virginia. “It’s not our rule,” lowed at the property.
partment of Hous- Petri told reporter Jason Spence,
ing and Urban De- “it’s the fair housing law, which FHA DOES NOT PROHIBIT RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION
velopment (HUD) says you cannot discriminate Cruciani closed her letter by saying, “The
and the U.S. De- against religion.” Fair Housing Act does not prohibit religious
partment of Justice Attempts to contact the expression; it requires that applicants and
to see if they might Fair Housing Institute were tenants for housing be treated equally with-
intervene on behalf unsuccessful. out regard to their particular religion. The
of residents. Linda Cruciani, HUD’s assis- Heritage Court Apartments and the other
Conservative le- tant general counsel for fair property owned by the Frederick Investment
gal foundations housing enforcement, wrote a Corp. may allow religious activities in the
contacted the Bible letter to Petri clarifying HUD’s community areas of these properties. We
study group and U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) stance on religious services on recommend that the two communities
told them that they intervened on behalf of the Bible May 19. Cruciani’s opening clearly communicate that participation in
would help the study group at Heritage Court. paragraph pointed out that the the religious activities in the common ar-
group take the man- Fair Housing Institute was “not eas is strictly voluntary and that the com-
agement company to court, if necessary. affiliated with or funded by the Department munities do not discriminate on the basis
Despite all this, One Management stood of Housing and Urban Development.” of religion.”
firm on its new policy, insisting that they Cruciani advised Petri that as long as the After receiving Cruciani’s letter, One
would only change it if they were assured religious services were “voluntary” and the Management dropped its plans to follow the
by someone in the government that they common areas of the property were made (continued on page 15)

August 2006 NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE 11

012
 Cases reported in July 2006
Lucas v. Green Tree Servicing, LLC, et al., 2006 U.S. App.
LEXIS 46717, S.D. WV, July 10, 2006. This matter is before
the Court on the Defendant Green Tree’s partial motion for dis-
missal of Plaintiff’s claims for pre-bankruptcy conduct and for
unconscionable contract. Because Plaintiff’s claims relate only
to Defendant’s post-bankruptcy servicing of her loan, the Courts
finds that Defendant’s partial motion for dismissal of pre-bank-
ruptcy claims is denied as moot. The Court also denies
Defendant’s motion for dismissal of Plaintiff’s claim of un-
conscionable contract as moot because this is a claim not
even asserted against Defendant Green Tree. NFHAO Case
ID: 3015
Coe v. CMH Homes, et al., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47153, M.D.
N.C., July 11, 2006. This matter is before the Court on Defen-
dants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s complaint and to impose sanc-
tions. Plaintiff brings this action pro se. Plaintiff purchased a
mobile home from Defendants. Defendants installed the home
in 2002, and then moved the home in 2004 to a new plot of land.
Plaintiff alleges Defendants caused him damages in not moving
and installing the home correctly in the second move by failing
to connect utility lines and failing to fully anchor the home. Plain-
tiff asserts these acts caused Plaintiff to be denied access to his
home, which caused Plaintiff various physical and mental inju-
ries. Plaintiff further asserts that Defendants did not so deny
access to others who were lacking Plaintiff’s disability. Defen-
dants’ motion to dismiss is granted because Section 3604 is aimed
at stopping discriminatory practices in the sale or rental of prop-
erty, and the acts alleged by Plaintiff do not fall under the Fair
Housing Act’s definition of discrimination. Defendants’ motion
to impose sanctions is denied as the Court sees no reason to im-
pose sanction for Plaintiff’s creative but flawed reading of the
Fair Housing Act. NFHAO Case ID: 3011
Idaho AIDS Foundation, Inc. v. Idaho Housing and Finance
Assoc., HUD, et al., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49041, D. ID, July
11, 2006. This matter is before the Court on the Defendant HUD’s
motion to dismiss the claims against them for mootness, and on
Plaintiff’s and Defendant IHFA’s motions to reconsider. Pursu-
ant to the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS Program
(“HOPWA”), HUD distributes funds to state instrumentalities
like Defendant IHFA to provide housing assistance and support
services to people infected with HIV and their families. In Octo-
ber 2000, Defendant IHFA contracted with Plaintiff, a project
grantee, to provide rental assistance and support service to people
infected with HIV. The contract was renewed in July 2001. For
services rendered after October 4, 2001, Defendant IHFA re-
quired that Plaintiff’s clients grant IHFA releases of their confi-
dential information in order for Plaintiff to receive reimburse-
ment. IHFA stated that HUD required the confidential informa-
tion for auditing purposes. Plaintiff claimed violations of the Fair
Housing Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, HOPWA Statutes
and Regulations, the constitutional right to privacy, due process
rights, and breach of contract. The parties agreed to a stipula-
tion that stated HUD would not “reduce, cut off or otherwise
August 2006 NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE
adversely affect IHFA’s eligibility for HOPWA funds because
IHFA complied with a court order in this case.” The Court finds
that the stipulation mooted the case against HUD and the motion
to dismiss HUD from the action is granted. The remaining mo-
tions to reconsider are denied. A motion to reconsider must ei-
ther bring forth newly discovered evidence, must show that the
Court committed clear error or that the decision was manifestly
unjust. Simply rearguing summary judgment does not establish
clear error. NFHAO Case ID: 3013
Mass. Sober Housing Corp., v. Automatic Sprinkler Appeals
Board, 2006 Mass. App. LEXIS 753, Mass. App. Ct., July 12,
2006. Plaintiff operated a sober-living house for ten male veter-
ans. The sober living house was located in a home formerly
classified as a single-family dwelling and received a zoning ac-
commodation pursuant to the Fair Housing Act as to the parking
requirements. The City of Chesea, Department of Inspections,
deemed the property to be a “lodging or boarding house” for the
purposes of the fire codes, and thereafter notified Plaintiff of its
obligation to install an automatic sprinkler system under the city’s
general laws. The law requiring the sprinkler system applied to
all lodging or boarding houses without regard to the disability
status of the building occupants. Plaintiff argued the sober liv-
ing house is not a lodging or boarding house, but should be
treated as a single-family dwelling. Showing deference to
the city’s reasonable interpretation of its own statute and find-
ing that the risk of fire or injury associated with traditional
lodging or boarding house arrangements applies equally to
the Plaintiff despite its admirable emphasis on communal life,
the court finds that from a fire safety perspective the sober
living house is a lodging or boarding house, not a single-
family dwelling. NFHAO Case ID: 3016
DuBois, et al. v. Assoc. of Apartment Owners of Kalakaua,
2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 17487, 9th Cir., July 13, 2006. Plaintiffs,
DuBois and Prindable, shared a unit of a residential condominium
project. The condominium project was subject to the bylaws of
the Defendant. One of those bylaws was a “no pets policy.” Plain-
tiff DuBois brought home an English bulldog, Einstein, and sub-
mitted letters to the Defendant from doctors recommending that
“either DuBois or Prindable” be permitted to keep Einstein for
“medical reasons.” The Defendant requested more information.
After some period of time, doctors submitted additional letters
stating Prindable suffered from depression and would benefit
from animal-therapy. The Defendant granted Plaintiffs tempo-
rary permission to keep Einstein. Plaintiff’s filed a complaint
with HUD who then referred the complaint to the state civil right’s
commission. Defendant advised Plaintiffs it would continue the
temporary exemption for Einstein with final approval contingent
upon the result of the state agency’s investigation. Without wait-
ing for the outcome of the agency’s investigation, Plaintiff’s filed
suit alleging discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Fair
Housing Act. The district court dismissed Plaintiff’s discrimina-
tion claims for failure of proof. The 9th Circuit affirms because
continued on next page
12
the Defendant never required Einstein to leave the property and
thus never refused to accommodate Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs’ retalia-
tion claim fails because Plaintiffs failed to show that any actions
allegedly taken by the Defendant were motivated by the Fair
Housing complaint. NFHAO Case ID: 3012
United States v. Taigen & Sons, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
49772, D. ID, July 18, 2006. Consent Order resolving case in
which Defendant was found to have violated the Fair Housing
Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Department of Jus-
tice regulations by failing to design and construct an eighty-six
unit apartment building in compliance with those laws. NFHAO
Case ID: 3019
O’Bryant v. City of Reading, et al., 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS
18360, 3rd Cir., July 20, 2006. Plaintiff, a fair housing specialist
for Defendant City, alleges she was denied overtime pay for hours
she worked in excess of forty hours per week in violation of the
Fair Labor Standards Act. The record established that despite
the time Plaintiff spent on clerical activities, her primary du-
ties were related to the general business and operation of the
Defendant City, requiring the exercise of discretion and in-
dependent judgment. Accordingly, the Court finds Plaintiff
is an administrative employee and is exempt from the over-
time requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. NFHAO
Case ID: 3017
Lakeside Resort Enterprises, LP, et al. v. Board of Supervi-
sors of Palmyra Township, U.S. App. LEXIS 18223, 3rd Cir.,
July 20, 2006. The Court considered whether a proposed alco-
hol and drug treatment facility, where the average stay is less
than 15 days but where the facility is intended for 30-day stays as
a matter of course, qualifies as a dwelling under the Fair Housing
Act. Two factors determine whether a specific facility is a dwell-
ing under the Fair Housing Act – first, whether the facility is
intended or designed for occupants who intend to remain in the
facility for any significant period or time and, second, whether
those occupants would view the facility as a place to return to
during that period. The Court finds that the Plaintiff Facility is a
dwelling under the Fair Housing Act. The facility is intended to
accommodate 30-day stays as a matter of course and the fact that
health-insurance funding limits some residents to less than 15
days does not, alone, deprive Plaintiff Facility of its residential
status. Further, the record shows that residents at Plaintiff Facil-
ity viewed the facility as their home for the duration of their stay.
The Court notes that the second prong of the analysis was “barely”
satisfied. NFHAO Case ID: 3008
ACORN et al. v. County of Nassau, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
50217, E.D. N.Y., July 21, 2006. This matter is before the Court
on Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s amended complaint
asserting Plaintiffs lack standing and that the complaint fails to
August 2006 NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE
state a claim on which relief could be granted. Plaintiffs allege
that the Village of Garden City and the County of Nassau re-
jected a rezoning proposal for racially discriminatory reasons.
Plaintiffs - Long Island ACORN, Developer NYAHC and five
individuals – filed suit when the land was rezoned for expen-
sive single-family homes rather than affordable multifamily
housing. Plaintiffs charge that this instance was representa-
tive of a long-standing pattern of discrimination in the area,
and point to the County’s highly segregated communities as
proof. The Court denies Defendant’s motion to dismiss al-
lowing ACORN to proceed on behalf of its members and al-
lowing the developer and individual Plaintiffs to proceed.
NFHAO Case ID: 3010
Johnson v. Adams Metro. Housing Authority, 2006 U.S. Dist.
LEXIS 50750, S.D. OH, July 25, 2006. This matter is before the
Court for a sua sponte review of the adequacy of Plaintiff’s com-
plaint. Pro Se Plaintiff alleges Defendant breached the lease
between tenant and landlord by placing two persons with dis-
abilities in an unsafe and unhealthy environment which led to a
situation in which “two men came from another metropolitan
home and forced their way into [Plaintiff’s] home and threat-
ened the [persons with disabilities] with death and harm.” Plain-
tiff further alleges that Defendant dismissed and ignored her pleas
about the situation. Plaintiff’s complaint fails to state a claim for
relief under the Fair Housing Act as Plaintiff fails to allege facts
showing intentional discrimination, discriminatory impact or re-
fusal to make reasonable accommodations. To any extent that
the Plaintiff alleges state law claims, those claims fail for lack of
diversity of citizenship. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s complaint is
dismissed as frivolous, or alternatively, on the ground that it fails
to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. NFHAO
Case ID: 3014
What’s that NFHAO Case ID? Subscribers to the National
Fair Housing Advocate Online Case Database at
www.fairhousing.com can now simply enter the case ID num-
ber on the search page to go directly to the full text of
these cases.
What’s the NFHAO Case Database? The NFHAO Case Da-
tabase is the most comprehensive and affordable fair housing
case database on the Internet, and it is far more economical that
major online legal resources like Lexis and Westlaw.
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and I want one! Yes, you do want one! Our very low annual
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Photo by Emily Hoyer
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Former Maryland police officer pleads guilty to criminal
violations of the Fair Housing Act and death threats
L
ast month, the U.S. Department of shoot black schoolchildren as they emerged tencing for Dec. 8, 2006. According to the
Justice announced new criminal from the buildings. U.S. Attorney’s office, there is no minimum
charges under the federal Fair Hous- “We have two guns at North High. We sentence required, and there has not been an
ing Act against a former Maryland police have two guns at South High. We’re going agreement reached with Shifler’s defense
officer who has been in federal custody since to blow the niggers away,” Shifler admitted team on what sentence to recommend to
February. Earlier this month, in a deal with to saying. Judge Motz.
federal prosecutors, he pled guilty Both schools were put on emergency “When a law enforcement officer makes
Jeffrey S. Shifler, a 41-year-old resident lockdown, according to local media, and racist threats against government officials
of Maugansville, Md. has worked as a po- extracurricular activities were suspended. and school students, it is a threat to the very
lice officer in the Maryland towns of In 2004 and 2005, Parson-McBean and fabric of our society,” stated United States
Hagerstown and Boonsboro. Shifler was her supporters received anonymous, racially Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “We will vig-
arrested in February after charged letters from Shifler. orously investigate and prosecute hate crimes
being charged with making The letters, one of which and make certain that the criminals who com-
death threats against black was written on photocopied mit them are punished.”
residents and businesses in Hagerstown Department of Assistant Attorney General for the Civil
Hagerstown. In all, the Jus- Police letterhead, threatened Rights Division Wan J. Kim stated, “Any
tice Department alleges that harm to Parson-McBean threat of violence based on bigotry is abhor-
Shifler threatened 25 people and her supporters if she did rent. It is even worse when the threat is made
via phone and anonymous not withdraw from the City by an officer against kids. The Department
letters between August 2004 Council election. of Justice is committed to prosecuting any
and February 2006. He was The Fair Housing Act individual who illegally perpetuates hatred.”
held without bond. charge and the school-re-
The charges against lated criminal charge carry PAPER CALLS FOR MAXIMUM SENTENCE
Shifler included a criminal a possible a jail term of 10 An editorial in the Herald-Mail, a re-
charge of interference under years and fines of $250,000 gional daily newspaper covering
the federal Fair Housing Act each. Those penalties are in Hagerstown, has called upon federal pros-
and a criminal charge of in- addition to other charges ecutors to seek the maximum sentence for
terference with public pending against Shifler. Shifler. “Shifler should be ordered to repay
U.S. Attorney for the Distrcit of
school activities. Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein
Shifler was fired from the the department for the cost of the investiga-
The Fair Housing Act Hagerstown Police Depart- tion. It would be difficult, if not impossible,
charge stems from a voicemail message that ment in 2003 for falsifying his personnel to compensate the students and Parson-
Shifler allegedly left on the home answer- records. According to local media, he was McBean for the stress they felt when they
ing machine of Hagerstown’s first and only also fired from the Boonsboro Police De- believed someone might kill them, just be-
African American city councilperson. Ac- partment in 2005 after he was arrested and cause of the color of their skin,” the edito-
cording to the Justice Department filing, charged with making the threats. rial concluded.
Shifler phoned the home of Councilperson During a bond Should Judge Motz
Alesia Parson-McBean, claiming to be a hearing last month, the impose the maximum
member of the Ku Klux Klan. U.S. Attorney’s Office penalty, Shifler could
presented evidence spend 20 years in fed-
“WE’RE THE KKK” that Shifler had col- eral prison, be ordered
According to the charges and plea agree- lected news clippings to pay $500,000 in
ment, Shifler recorded the following threat- about murders and fines, and possibly res-
ening message: “Hi, Alesia. Please talk to suicides, had a list of titution to his victims.
us soon. We’re the KKK. We’re about to take addresses for Deputy Federal Pub-
you down and burn your house. The end is Hagerstown’s black lic Defender Joseph A.
near, nigger, so get prepared. We’ll see you churches, and had Balter, who repre-
soon. Bye-bye.” several photos of sented Shifler, said
Threatening to destroy someone’s home Parson-McBean and Shifler was “deeply
because of their race is a violation of Sec- the chief of police. Former police officer Jeffrey Shifler sorry about the pain
tion 3617 of the Fair Housing Act, which A U.S. Magistrate threatened the African American students at that he caused to the
prohibits threats, intimidation and inter- Judge ordered Shifler North Hagerstown High (top) and South
Hagerstown High (bottom).
victims.”
ference with one’s fair housing rights. released on $100,000 Balter said that
The other new charge against Shifler bond, but the Justice Department appealed, Shifler was motivated by anger at the
stems from threats he allegedly phoned in to and U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz Hagerstown Police Department for firing
the Washington County school board, claim- overturned the decision the following day him. The Herald-Mail editorial hypoth-
ing that gunmen were positioned outside and denied bail. Shifler is currently being esized that Shifler may have been trying to
both North Hagerstown High School and held in Allegheny County, Md. frame the police department for his actions
South Hagerstown High School, waiting to Judge Motz has scheduled Shifler’s sen- in an act of revenge.
.
August 2006 NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE 14
 HUD headquarters issues guidance to regions on
community conversion to housing for older persons
I
n March, Bryan Greene, HUD’s Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Program’s issued a policy memo to all
of the Department’s regional directors re-
garding how communities might convert to
senior housing under the Housing for Older
Persons Act of 1995.
In 1995, Congress passed the Housing
for Older Persons Act, which exempts com-
munities from the familial status provisions
of the Fair Housing Act as long as at least
80 percent of the units in the community
housed at lease one person age 55 or older.
HOPA communities must publish rules re-
garding the ages of residents, market them-
selves as senior housing, and be willing to
provide age verifications to HUD if asked.
When HUD implemented HOPA, it gave
communities until May 3,2000 to convert to
HOPA housing and qualify for the exemp-
tion. Communities were allowed to reject
families with children between 1995 and
2000 if they were attempting to convert to
HOPA housing, but after May 3, 2000, com-
munities who discriminated against families
with children but did not qualify as HOPA
communities could be prosecuted under the
Fair Housing Act.
Since May 3, 2000, many existing com-
munities have asked HUD and fair housing
advocates if it were still possible to convert
to senior housing without facing a fair hous-
ing claim. Greene’s memo, which was re-
cently made available to the public and pub-
lished at fairhousing.com, provides two paths
to HOPA housing:
“First, an existing community or facility
can convert to ‘housing for older persons’
if 80 percent of its occupied units become
occupied by at least one person 55 years of
age or older.
“Unlike during the transition period,
Bible study
(continued from page 11)
religion neutral policy. “I’m very pleased
that the original information we received was
inaccurate,” Petri told the Herald-Journal
in a follow-up interview.
Inglis called the final resolution a vic-
tory for the First Amendment. The ordeal
was “a great reminder of how powerful the
Constitution is,” the Congressman said.
Marilyn Conley, one of the Bible study
attendees at Heritage Court, was excited
about the resolution of the issue. “You
August 2006
housing providers cannot discriminate
against families with children in order to
achieve 80 percent occupancy by persons 55 or
older. In other words, a community or facility
cannot reserve unoccupied units for persons 55
or older, advertise itself as housing for older per-
sons, or evict families with children in order to
reach the 80 percent threshold.
“If a family with children seeks to oc-
cupy a vacant unit in an existing facility be-
fore it has met all of the requirements nec-
essary to become housing for older persons,
the community or facility must permit the
family to live there. Additionally, the facil-
ity may not make existing families with chil-
dren feel unwelcome or otherwise encour-
age those families to move.
“While the facility or community may not
take any measures deliberately designed to
discourage families with children from con-
tinuing to reside in the community, nothing
prevents the offering of positive incentives
that might lead some families to seek hous-
ing elsewhere.
“If the community or facility achieves the
80 percent threshold, without discriminating
against families with children, it may then
publish and adhere to policies and procedures
that demonstrate an intent to provide hous-
ing for persons 55 years or older and comply
with verification of occupancy rules.
“The facility or community cannot pub-
lish such policies or procedures in advance
of meeting the 80 percent threshold (with-
out discrimination) as such policies and pro-
cedures would have a chilling impact upon
potential applicants or current occupants
who are families with children.
“A second way to establish housing for
older persons is to construct a new housing
community or facility and meet the three re-
quirements set forth in HOPA: (1) 80 per-
can’t just take people’s rights away,”
Conley told the Heritage-Journal. “I
don’t think they even understood, what
they did,” she concluded.
There have been differing decisions re-
garding Bible studies in common area re-
cently. Earlier this year, a federal judge in
Florida ruled that a homeowners association
had been justified in banning religious ser-
vices in its clubhouse, because the associa-
tion had been able to show the services
caused parking problems and other admin-
istrative issues in the community.
More recently, the Arizona Attorney Gen-
NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ADVOCATE
cent of the occupied units are occupied by
at least one person 55 years of age or older;
(2) the housing community or facility pub-
lishes and adheres to policies and proce-
dures that demonstrate an intent to provide
housing for persons 55 years or older; and
(3) the community or facility complies with
rules issued by the Secretary for verification
of occupancy through reliable surveys and af-
fidavits.
“Newly-constructed housing includes a
facility or community that has been entirely
unoccupied for at least 90 days prior to re-
occupancy, due to renovation or rehabilita-
tion. Newly-constructed housing is permit-
ted to discriminate against families with chil-
dren until 25 percent of its units are occu-
pied. If, at that time, the housing commu-
nity or facility does not have a resident 55
years or older in at least 80 percent of oc-
cupied units, then the community or facility
may not discriminate against families with
children.”
In addition to the 80 percent rule, there
are two other ways for communities to es-
tablish themselves as senior housing.
First, if the community receives state or
federal money as part of a program desig-
nating it as senior housing, then it qualifies
under HOPA.
Second, if every resident in the commu-
nity is 62 or older, then the community quali-
fies as a HOPA community.
HOPA communities may discriminate
against families with children, but they are
not exempt from other provisions of the Fair
Housing Act. Recently, HUD allowed HOPA
communities to take in evacuees from Hur-
ricanes Katrina and Rita under the age of 55
without losing their HOPA exemptions.
For the full text of Greene’s memo, see
http://xrl.us/hudhopa.
eral sued a Mesa, Ariz. homeowners asso-
ciation for charging a fee to a religious group
that used a community room for weekly
Bible studies. That case settled for a change
in the association’s rules and the repayment
of all fees charged to the group.
Despite recent cases and materials con-
tending otherwise, religion is the basis cited
least often in fair housing complaints, ac-
cording to HUD data.
For a copy of Cruciani’s letter, see http:/
/xrl.us/bible. The letter will soon be avail-
able in the “HUD Resources” section of
www. fairhousing.com.
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