Housing and Civil Enforcement Cases
United States v. VP2, LLC (D. Minn.)
On September 28, 2017, the United States Attorney’s Office executed a settlement agreement in United States v. VP2, LLC (D. Minn.), a Fair Housing Act election case. The complaint, filed on March 6, 2017, alleged the defendants denied a reasonable accommodation request to allow the HUD complainants to keep an assistance animal at an extended-stay hotel. The agreement requires the defendants to pay $11,000 to the HUD complainants and participate in fair housing training, as well as additional relief. The case was referred to the Division after the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received a complaint, conducted an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination.
United States v. Appleby (W.D. Wash.)
On September 6, 2017, the parties entered a $95,000 settlement agreement resolving United States v. Appleby (W.D. Wash.). The pattern or practice/election complaint, which was filed on March 3, 2017, alleged that the property manager and owners of rental properties in Edmonds, Washington, discriminated on the basis of familial status in violation of the Fair Housing Act. The complaint alleged the defendants denied apartment units to prospective tenants with children and made written statements that their apartment properties were “adult” buildings. The settlement provides for $35,000 for complainants, $35,000 for additional aggrieved persons, and a $25,000 civil money penalty, as well as injunctive relief. The case was referred to the Division after the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received a complaint, conducted an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination.
United States v. Bedford Development LLC (S.D.N.Y.)
On March 15, 2019, the United States Attorney’s Office entered into a settlement agreement to resolve United States v. Bedford Development (S.D.N.Y.), a Fair Housing Act election and pattern or practice case. The complaint, filed on March 1, 2017, and amended on March 6, 2017, alleged that the defendants Robert Pascucci, Bedford Development, LLC, Carnegie Construction Corp., Jobco, Inc., and Warshauer Mellusi Warshauer Architects P.C. violated the Fair Housing Act on the basis of disability by failing to design and construct the Sutton Manor condominium building in Mount Kisco, New York with the accessibility features required by the Act. The settlement agreement requires the defendants to pay for up to $172,784 for retrofits to common areas and units, establish an aggrieved persons fund of $30,000, pay $322,216 for damages, attorneys’ fees, and unit retrofits to the private plaintiffs who filed the HUD complaints that initiated the matter, report future design and construction projects to counsel for the United States, and agree to refrain from discrimination based on disability in the future.