Docket: Housing/Predatory Mortgage Lending/Livable Communities
Case Name: Opiotennione v. Bozzuto Management Co. (housing discrimination)
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. Maryland Docket: 20-1956
Filed: 4/27/2021
Read AARP Amicus Brief (PDF)
Case Issue: Does Plaintiff have standing to challenge Defendants’ practice of excluding older adults from receiving housing advertisements on Facebook?
Case Name: Tyler v. Hennepin Co.
Court: U.S. Ct. App. 8th Circuit Docket: 20-3730
Filed: 3/29/2021
Read AARP Amicus Brief (PDF)
Case Issue: Does the Takings Clause of either the U.S. or the Minnesota Constitution forbid public officials from confiscating the amount of surplus equity yielded in a tax foreclosure sale above the amount of taxes (and related costs and penalties) owed by the former taxpayer?
Case Name: Francis v. Kings Park Manor
Court: U.S. Ct. App. 2d Cir. Docket: 15-1823
Decided: 3/25/2021
Read AARP's Amicus Brief (PDF) and Decision (PDF) Dissent/Concur Decision 1, Dissent/Concur Decision 2 (PDF)
Case Result: The en banc court concluded that plaintiff did not state a claim against the landlord-defendant under the FHA for tenant-on-tenant racial harassment in this case because the landlord could not be presumed to have the degree of control over the tenant necessary to impose liability under the act. Second Panel decision was vacated and decision below was affirmed.
Case Name: Moretalara v. Boston Housing Authority
Court: Commonwealth of Mass., Appeals Ct. Docket: 22019-P-1024
Decided: 9/17/2020
Read AARP's Amicus Brief (PDF) and Decision (PDF)
Case Result: The court held that fair housing obligations, including the obligation to reasonably accommodate tenants with disabilities, override the strict liability nature of Section 8 rental assistance lease provisions holding tenants accountable for drug-related criminal violations of any member or guest of the household. In this case, the court found that the tenant had proven that her disability prevented her from controlling her caregiver who had violated the lease and that her accommodation of relying on a different caregiver, which had been successful during the appeal, was reasonable.
Case Name: City of Oakland v. Wells Fargo
Court: U.S. Ct. App. 9th Cir. Docket: 19-15169
Decided: 8/26/2020
Read AARP's Amicus Brief (PDF)
Case Result: The court held that Congress clearly intended the Fair Housing Act (FHA) to be broad enough to encompass aggregate, city-wide injuries such as a decrease in property taxes that Oakland claimed it suffered as a result of Wells Fargo’s unlawful racially discriminatory lending practices throughout the City. The court also held that to bring declaratory and injunctive relief the City would have to allege that the bank’s ongoing bad acts were the proximate cause of its injuries.
Case Name: Mt. Holly Gardens Citizens in Action v. Twp. of Mt. Holly
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. N..J. (Camden) Docket: 1:08-cv-02584-NLH-JS
Decided: 7/6/2020
Case Result: A group of residents of the Mt. Holly Gardens redevelopment area sued Mt. Holly Township for violations of the FHA and obtained a sweeping and comprehensive settlement. They were provided replacement housing with mandatory deed restrictions that reduced the value of the settlement. A settlement on behalf of the group was reached that resolved their claims for injunctive and monetary damages against the Township and the Township’s claims for injunctive relief and contempt against the residents.
Case Name: Wilmington Savings Fund v. Castillo
Court: Fajardo Superior Court Docket: FA2018cv01073
Read Counterclaim ESP (PDF), Counterclaim ENG (PDF), Prensa ESP (PDF) Press ReleaseENG (PDF) and Article ESP, Article ENG
Settled: 1/24/2020
FiledCase Result: The case was settled to both parties' satisfaction and Mrs. Castillo will remain in her home.
Case Name: Ryan v. Mary Ann Morse Healthcare
Court: Supreme Judicial Ct., Mass. Docket: SJC-12708
Decided: 12/5/2019
Read AARP's Amicus Brief (PDF) and Decision (PDF)
Case Result: The Mass. Supreme Judicial Court held that the Assisted Living Residence (ALR) statute, incorporates applicable consumer protection laws, including the Landlord-Tenant Security Deposit Law. As a result, ALRs may no longer charge general community fees like the $2,800 fee at issue in this case. An ALR is not in violation if it charges an upfront fee for the distinctive services assisted living facilities provide that are not applicable to traditional landlord-tenant relationships, such as fees related to initial assessments of residents to determine their suitability for placement in an assisted living facility.
Case Name: Cooper v. Senior Citizens Housing of Ann Arbor
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. ED Mich. Docket: 18-cv-12448-MAG-MKM
Settled: 7/24/2019
Read Complaint (PDF) Joint Press Release and Press Release (PDF)
Case Issue: The parties reached an amicable settlement in which Lurie Terrace removed the "able to live independently" requirement from its lease and adopted model policies and practices to prevent disability discrimination and guarantee that reasonable accommodations will be available to tenants.
Case Name: Francis v. Kings Park Manor
Court: U.S. Ct. App. 2d Cir. Docket: 15-1823
Decided: 3/4/2019
Read AARP's Amicus Brief (PDF) and Decision (PDF)
Case Result: The second circuit held that a landlord may be held liable under the Fair Housing Act and the New York State Human Rights Law for failing to take prompt action to address a hostile housing environment created by one tenant targeting another based on a protected class, like race, where the landlord knew of the harassment and had the power to correct it.
Case Name: Fair Housing Justice Center v. Hochul
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. NY (Southern Dist.) Docket: 18-civ-3186
Filed: 4/12/2018, Opposition brief filed 10/9/2018
Read Complaint (PDF), Press Release (PDF), and Opposition Brief (PDF)
Case Issue: Does a blanket prohibition barring users of wheelchairs from living in Adult Care Facilities regulated and funded through New York State's Department of Health violate the Fair Housing Act, the ADA, and other civil rights laws?
Case Name: Bank of Am. v. City of Miami; Wells Fargo Co. v. City of Miami
Court: U.S. Supreme Court Docket: 15-1111 & 15-1112 (consolidated)
Filed: 10/7/2016
Read AARP's Amicus Brief (PDF)
Case Issue: Does the term "aggrieved" in the Fair Housing Act impose a zone-of-interst requirement more stringent than the injury-in-fact requirement of Article III of the Constitution to have standing to sue; and whether the City is an "aggrieved person" under the Fair Housing Act so that it could sue lendees for predatory practices that led to foreclosures and increased costs for the City.
Case Name: American Ins. Ass'n v. U.S. Dep't of Housing and Urban Dev.
Court: U.S. Dist Ct. D.C. Docket: 13-cv-00966-RJL
Filed: 9/13/2016
Read AARP's Amicus Brief (PDF)
Case Issue: Does HUD's final rule, "Implementation of the Fair Housing Act's Discriminatory Effects Standard," violate the Fair Housing Act (FHA) because it allows plaintiffs (1) to show disparate impact only by demonstrating a statistical disparity and (2) displace challenged policy choices without showing theirs are at least as effective? Does the FHA preclude the application of the Rule to homeowner insurers specifically because (1) the Rule "pervasively injects" race into what was a previously "race-blind" process and (2) insurance law requirements break the causal chainbetween the alleged discriminatory acts and the injury claimed by plaintiffs?
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