article: On July 16, 2010, the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, under the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3631, against the owners, operators and managers of a 268-unit apartment complex located in Renton Washington. The U.S. claimed that Defendants engaged in a pattern and practice of intentional discrimination against African Americans, Hispanics, people from India, and families with children by instructing staff not to show newly renovated apartments to them, steering them to less desirable buildings, demanding proof of citizenship, asking them not to speak to one another in their first language, requiring stricter application requirements, and refusing services. These behaviors were confirmed by testing conducted by the Fair Housing Council of Washington. The case proceeded towards trial, but then settled on March 7, 2011, when the Court (Judge James Robart) approved a jointly submitted Consent Decree. Besides general non-discrimination provisions, the Decree prohibited the defendant owner from employing its manager in any position in connection with housing rentals. It also required adoption, implementation, and notification to tenants of a Uniform Nondiscriminatory Procedure, and employee training on Fair Housing Act requirements. In included provisions on recordkeeping, monitoring, and reporting, to facilitate compliance. Finally, the defendants agreed to pay $85,000 for the establishment of a settlement fund for victims of the Defendants' discrimination and a $25,000 civil penalty to be paid to the United States. The consent decree terminated in 2014, and the case is now closed.
summary: This fair housing litigation was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, by the U.S., which accused the owners, operators, and managers of a 268-unit apartment complex in Renton Washington of a pattern and practice of intentional discrimination against African Americans, Hispanics, people from India, and families with children. The Complaint accused the defendants of instructing staff not to show newly renovated apartments to minority and family tenants, steering them to less desirable buildings, demanding proof of citizenship, asking them not to speak to one another in their first language, requiring stricter application requirements, and refusing services. These behaviors were confirmed by testing conducted by the Fair Housing Council of Washington. The case settled in March 2011, with a detailed consent decree setting out requirements for uniform and nondiscriminatory procedures, as well as other policy, training, and compliance mechanisms. The defendants also agreed to pay $85,000 for the establishment of a settlement fund for victims of the Defendants' discrimination and a $25,000 civil penalty to be paid to the United States.