Lawsuit Alleging Race Discrimination at Livonia, Michigan, Apartment Complex Resolved

According to the United States Department of Justice in a recent press release, Apple Ridge Apartments, formerly known as Whispering Woods, has lost in a case with the Department of Justice and will now face to pay a $725,000 settlement.

The operators of this apartment complex allegedly discriminated against African Americans by not letting them rent out apartments with they asked for more information about the apartment complex. This complex is located in Livonia, Michigan.

This case was filed in April of 2006 and was united with a case already in the works filed by the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit one year earlier. The Department of Justice's case was taken care of by two attorneys, one from the U.S. Attorney's Office and the other from the Civil Rights Division . This lawsuit all came about from a complaint that showed a continual pattern at Whispering Woods, now Apple Ridge Apartments, that its owner Elliot C. Schubiner would not allow African- Americans be his tenants, ultimately becoming a practice of discrimination.

"Fair and equal access to housing is a basic right-one that should not be denied to any American because of their race," said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Civil Rights Division is committed to continuing its vigorous enforcement of all the fair housing laws."

"Discrimination against those seeking access to fair housing on the basis of race is not only against the law, it is contrary to the societal norms that exist in 21st century America," said Stephen J. Murphy, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. "The time should be long past that racial discrimination determined the availability of apartments and housing in our country. Should we uncover future evidence of such conduct in my district, this Office will investigate, litigate where necessary and take action to stop it."

Though this settlement still has to be approved by the court, once approved, the defendant has a lot to pay. In the settlement, the defendant must pay for damages and attorney's fees fo the Fair Housing Center which adds up to $350,000 alone. Another $333,000 must be paid to the total of 21 people who were not allowed rents at this apartment complex because of their race. Another $45,000 must be paid to the United States for a civil penalty and from now on this apartment complex must use an independent property management company when looking for new tenants by the application process.

SOURCE

Department of Justice