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Litigation
Lawyers’
Committee Settles Claims that Resort in South Carolina Refused
African-American Family Access to Pool
On
August 11, 2005, the Lawyers Committee and their clients,
an extended African-American family, announced the settlement
of their discrimination claims against a vacation rental
condominium resort in Myrtle Beach , South Carolina, which
barred them from using its swimming pool. Among other things,
the settlement provides the plaintiffs with an undisclosed
monetary compensation, requires the Homeowners’ Association
agreed to issue a written apology to the family members,
to conduct fair housing training for individuals involved
in the day-today management of Baytree III, and to inform
its members of its policy of non-discrimination.
For a copy of the Lawyers’ Committee’s press release,
click
here.
Recent
Developments: Lawyers’ Committee Files Brief in Support
of New York Attorney General’s Enforcement of Fair
Lending Laws
On August 5, 2005, the Lawyers’ Committee and others,
representing six major national civil rights and advocacy
groups and ten New York organizations who fight discriminatory
lending practices, filed a brief amicus curiae in
support of the New York Attorney General’s investigation
of discriminatory lending practices by national banks and
their subsidiaries. The investigation was opened after recent
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (“HMDA”) data revealed
that African-American customers were 1.5 to 3 times more
likely than whites to receive high-cost loans at several
national banks. However, the Clearing House Association,
L.L.C., an organization of commercial banks, and the federal
agency regulating national banks, the Office of the Comptroller
of the Currency (“OCC”), sued Attorney General
Spitzer, claiming that the National Bank Act prohibited
any state enforcement and investigation of national banks
or their subsidiaries. The Lawyers’ Committee’s
amicus brief explains the ongoing, serious problem
of discrimination in lending and the need for increased
enforcement. In addition, it explains why the New York Attorney
General’s enforcement activities are permitted and
authorized under the National Bank Act and the Fair Housing
Act.
For a copy of the Lawyers’ Committee’s press release,
click
here.
For a copy of the Lawyers’ Committee’s amicus
brief, click here.
Court Grants Preliminary Approval of Settlement in the Blakely
Case
On
the eve of trial, our clients reached a tentative settlement
agreement with the Blakely Housing Authority and its Executive
Director in Queen King, et al. v. City of Blakely Housing
Authority, et al., Case No. 1:00-CV-109-1 (M.D. Ga.) and
the companion case brought by the United States Department
of Justice, United States v. City of Blakely Housing Authority,
et al., Case No. 1:02-CV-87-3 (M.D. Ga.). In those cases,
plaintiffs alleged that the defendants segregated housing
at the Blakely Housing Authority by race, treated the African-American
tenants much less favorably than white tenants and retaliated
against tenants who protested the discrimination at the
Housing Authority. Under the proposed Consent Decree, among
other things, the plaintiffs will receive $252,000 in damages
and, most notably, the Executive Director will resign from
the Housing Authority and be forever banned from working
there. The Court recently granted plaintiffs' motion for
preliminary approval of the terms of the Consent Decree
and dissemination of the notices of settlement to the Class.
A fairness hearing is scheduled for January 26, 2005. Co-counsel
are Nancy Kilson, John Braatz, Christopher Raimondi, Rose
Murphy, Simone Coley and legal assistant Omar Brunson of
the New York Office of Proskauer Rose LLP.
Click
here to read more about the proposed settlement.
Lawyers'
Committee Files Amicus Brief in Support of Challenge to
New Jersey's Administration of the Low-Income Housing Tax
Credit Program
On
August 11, 2003, the Lawyers' Committee filed an amicus
brief in support of a challenge to New Jersey's operation
of the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit ("LIHTC")
program, the largest source of
federal subsidies for affordable housing.
New
Jersey's program is being challenged by a group of local
NAACP branches because the program operates in a manner
that virtually ensures that the vast majority of subsidized
housing units for families will be placed in concentrated
minority neighborhoods in New Jersey's urban areas, increasing
the already-high level of segregation in the state. As the
Lawyers' Committee stated in its brief, the state's use
of the program in a manner that contributed to segregation
and its refusal to consider the impact of its affordable
housing decisions on neighborhood racial and socioeconomic
composition violates the Fair Housing Act. Just as all other
federally-subsidized housing programs (such as public housing
and Section 8 housing) must be operated in a manner that
affirmatively furthers integrated housing under the Fair
Housing Act, New Jersey must operate its LIHTC program in
a like manner. The case is currently pending before the
Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.
For
a copy of the Amicus Brief, click here
Port
Wentworth, GA
On October 22, 2003, the North Port Wentworth Citizens’
Council, Inc. and several African-American residents and
property owners sued the City of Port Wentworth, Georgia
in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
Georgia, alleging that the City has discriminated against
them on the basis of race in the provision of municipal
services. The lawsuit alleges that the City has systematically
discriminated against the African-American communities of
Berrien/Saussy Roads and Monteith by refusing to provide
those communities with the same municipal services it provides
for its white communities, such as public water and sewer
and the maintenance of drainage canals and ditches. In addition,
the suit alleges that these discriminatory actions are part
of a longstanding concerted plan by the City to destroy
these African-American communities and displace their residents.
As a result of the City’s less favorable treatment,
the plaintiffs allege that the value of their property has
been damaged, their ability to enjoy such property diminished,
and their communities stigmatized.
For
a copy of the complaint, click here
For
a copy of the press release, click here
Myrtle
Beach, SC
On February 23, 2003, the Lawyers' Committee, along with
the law firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan and attorney
Richard Lovelace, Jr., has filed suit on behalf of African-American
families against a home owner's Association and its president
for discrimination that the families suffered during a family
reunion weekend at the Baytree Plantation, which included
being denied the opportunity to utilize the facility's amenities.
For
a copy of the complaint, click here
For a copy of the press
release, click here
Alexandria,
Virginia
The Lawyers' Committee, along with the law firm, Paul A.
Fiscella, P.C., has filed suit on behalf of the Alexandria
Resident Council against the United States Department of
Housing and Urban Development challenging their refusal
to require that ARC is provided an opportunity to purchase
Samuel Madden public housing before it is sold to a private
developer.
For
a copy of the press release, click here.
For a copy of the
complaint, click here.
On
December 10, 2002, the Lawyers Committee, along with the
law firm Paul A. Fiscella, LLC, filed a motion for a preliminary
injunction motion to prevent HUD from taking further steps
to approve the sale and/or redevelopment of Samuel Madden.
Oral argument on this motion is set for February 2003.
For
a copy of the motion for preliminary injunction, click here.
On
December 13, 2002, WAMU, a DC-based radio station, ran the
following story on the redevelopment of Samuel Madden and
the litigation surrounding the residents’ right to
purchase.
To
listen to the story, click here - http://www.wamu.org/ram/2002/mc021214-2.ram
download RealPlayer
Lawyers'
Committee Files Amicus Brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in
the Buckeye Case
On November 20, 2002, the Lawyers' Committee filed an amicus
brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in City of Cuyahoga Falls
v. Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, No. 01-1269, a case
involving the denial of building permits to the developer
of tax- credit subsidized affordable housing following the
filing of a referendum by citizens challenging the project.
For
a copy of the Lawyers' Committee's brief, click here
Greenville,
North Carolina
The
Lawyers' Committee files Housing Discrimination Lawsuit
Against the Owners and Managers of an Apartment Complex
in Greenville, North Carolina.
For
a copy of the complaint, click here
For
a copy of the press release, click here
Charleston,
West Virginia
The Lawyers' Committee, along with the Katz Working Families
Law Firm, has filed suit on behalf of REDEEM, a community-based
advocacy organizations, and others against the City of Charleston
and the Charleston Housing Authority to challenge retaliation
in response to REDEEM's advocacy efforts on behalf of African
Americans and African-American public housing residents.
For
a copy of complaint, click here.
For
a copy of press release, click here.
Blakely,
Georgia
The Lawyers' Committee, along with the law firm of Proskauer
Rose LLP, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the
Middle District of Georgia against the City of Blakely,
Georgia; the Blakely Housing Authority; and the Housing
Authority’s executive director, Dan Cooper. The plaintiffs
allege in their complaint that the defendants maintain the
public housing projects in Blakely in a state of near-total
racial segregation, overtly discriminate against African-American
residents of those projects by imposing different terms
and conditions of rental based on race and retaliate against
those discrimination victims who dare to protest Defendants'
unlawful conduct. On September 17, 2003, the court granted
class certification in this matter.
For
a copy of the Complaint, click here.
For a copy of
The Order Granting Class Certification, click here.
For a copy of the
motion for class certification, click here.
For a copy of the
brief in support of the motion for class certification,
click here.
Miami,
Florida
On behalf of Wynwood Community Economic Development Corporation,
Inc., the Lawyers’ Committee, along with the law firm
of Proskauer Rose LLP, filed a motion to enforce a settlement
agreement between Wynwood and the City. In addition, the
Lawyers’ Committee has also filed a complaint in the
United States District Court for the Southern District of
Florida alleging that the City violated Wynwood’s civil
rights by breaching the Settlement Agreement. That Settlement
Agreement resolved prior litigation involving alleged discrimination
by the City against Wynwood. Wynwood is a predominantly
Puerto Rican, non-profit, community economic development
corporation that owns a foreign trade permit in the City
of Miami. Wynwood has been trying for more than ten years
to establish and operate a foreign trade zone in, and to
benefit, the community. The City has fought Wynwood almost
every step of the way.
For
a copy of the motion to enforce the settlement agreement,
click here.
For
a copy of the Press Release, click here.
For a copy of the
complaint filed in federal court, click here.
For
a copy of the Press Release, click here.
Huntington,
New York
The Lawyers' Committee, along with the Lawyers' Committee
for Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association
and the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher &
Flom LLP, ask Federal Court to halt immediately construction
at the Greens at Half Hollow in Huntington, New York. The
Plaintiffs, which include the Fair Housing in Huntington
Committee, Inc., and African-American and white residents
of the Town of Huntington, NY argue that the exclusion of
affordable family housing from the Greens will increase
housing segregation in Huntington and permanently foreclose
the last remaining opportunity for substantial integrated
housing in the Town.
Complaint
Press
Release
The
Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the lower
court's denial of Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction.
Although the Court affirmed the denial of a preliminary
injunction to halt construction of the housing development
at issue, it was only because the Court could not "say
that the district court abused its discretion at this early
stage in the proceedings and on the limited record before
it,..." As a threshold matter, the Court dismissed
the defendant's challenge to the plaintiffs' standing to
bring this case (pp. 6-13). The Court also acknowledged
that there can be a violation of the Fair Housing Act based
solely on disparate impact (pp. 19-20). Among other things,
it appears that the Court was reluctant to reverse the district
court's denial of a preliminary injunction based on what
it described as our "novel application" of disparate
impact in this case. "The novelty of this approach
alone makes us hesitant to disturb the district court's
decision regarding plaintiffs' likelihood of success on
the merits (pp. 20-21).
For
a copy of the full opinion, click here
Huntington
Amended Complaint
Washington,
DC
The Lawyers' Committee, along with the law firm of King
& Spalding, has filed suit on behalf of the National
Community Reinvestment Coalition alleging that the National
Credit Union Administration ("NCUA") violated
the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") when
it repealed a rule that ensured that credit unions all over
the country address the needs of every segment of the communities
they serve. Specifically, without the notice and comment
required by the APA, NCUA repealed a rule that required
credit unions to develop a community action plan that would
describe how a credit union would market its products and
services throughout all of the community in which the credit
union operates.
Complaint
NCRC Press Release
Opposition
to Motion to Dismiss
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