Department of Justice Seal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CR

MONDAY, MAY 24, 1999

(202) 616-2777

WWW.USDOJ.GOV

TDD (202) 514-1888


JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES SETTLEMENT OF
TWO FAIR HOUSING CASES IN IDAHO

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Landlords at two Idaho housing developments have agreed to pay nearly $200,000 to settle allegations of housing discrimination, under agreements reached today with the Justice Department.

The agreements, filed in U.S. District Court in Boise, resolve two complaints filed by the Justice Department in 1997, one concerning discrimination against Hispanics and the other concerning discrimination against families with children. The cases were the result of complaints filed by individuals and the Idaho Fair Housing Council with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) alleging violations of the federal Fair Housing Act. HUD investigated the complaints, found them credible and issued administrative charges of discrimination. The matters were then referred to the Justice Department for litigation in federal court.

"It has been 30 years since the Fair Housing Act was passed, yet, discrimination continues to be a very real problem in Idaho and other parts of the country," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "The federal government will take aggressive action against those who deny others this basic right."

"These settlements send an important message that landlords who discriminate will have to pay for their actions," said Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo. "We will not allow racism and bigotry to stop families across this nation from living anywhere they can afford. I applaud the Idaho Fair Housing Council, as a private partner of HUD, for its work in fighting housing discrimination in Idaho."

The first case resolves allegations that Jerry and Marlene Harlan, owners of the Golden Gate Mobile Home Park in Caldwell, Idaho, refused to rent lots to persons of Hispanic national origin. In one instance, that discrimination resulted in an existing resident being prevented from selling his mobile home to several interested Hispanic persons, including his son-in-law. It is also alleged that Mr. Harlan made derogatory discriminatory statements about Mexicans on numerous occasions to several residents in the Park and to a HUD official investigating the discrimination allegations.

The agreement, which settles allegations from four separate fair housing complaints filed with HUD in 1997, requires the Harlans to pay $92,500, including $75,000 in damages to the individual victims, a $10,000 civil penalty to the United States, and $7,500 in attorneys' fees to an attorney who represented the victims.

The second case, against Duane B. Hagadone, the owner of the Lake Villa Apartments in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, resolves three complaints filed with HUD alleging that occupancy standards limiting the number of persons who could live in an apartment and rules controlling the use of facilities discriminated against families with children.

Lake Villa limited occupancy of all apartments, including large two-bedroom apartments, to two persons. This standard prevented most Idaho families with children from becoming tenants at Lake Villa. In addition, those children who were able to become tenants or visited tenants were prohibited from using the Lake Villa swimming pool after 3:00 p.m. on weekdays and 1:00 p.m. on weekends and were barred from the Lake Villa clubhouse and laundry facilities even when accompanied by an adult.

Under the agreement, Mr. Hagadone will eliminate Lake Villa's illegal rules and pay a total of $105,000 in damages, including $75,000 to be shared between the three families and the Idaho Fair Housing Council, which had counseled two of the families, and $30,000 to establish a fund to be used to compensate other aggrieved persons identified after the settlement. Any portion of this fund not distributed to aggrieved persons will go to the Idaho Fair Housing Council for the purpose of furthering fair housing in Idaho.

"Idahoans should not be denied housing opportunities because they are Hispanic or because they have children," said Betty Richardson, United States Attorney for the District of Idaho. "We take seriously our responsibility to pursue landlords who engage in this type of discrimination and to provide equal access to justice to all Idahoans. Very simply, unlawful discrimination has no place anywhere in this state."

The settlements, which must be approved by the Court, prohibit the landlords from engaging in discriminatory acts in the future, and require them to complete an educational program concerning fair housing law and to take other steps to prevent discrimination occurrences.

Individuals who believe that their families may have been the victims of housing discrimination at Lake Villa Apartments should call the Housing Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department at 1-800-896-7743.

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