On June 30, 2014, Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Fair Housing Project and Greensboro attorney Craig Hensel filed a motion asking a U.S. district court to prevent a nonprofit housing group from retaliating against eight women who say the group’s employees extorted sex in exchange for facilitating their participation in a federal housing subsidy program. Legal …
fair housing act
Pinehurst Settles Discrimination Case Over Affordable Housing
On June 4, 2014, the Village of Pinehurst agreed to settle a fair housing discrimination claim brought by developers and residents over the Village’s refusal to allow an affordable housing project to be developed for senior citizens. As part of the settlement, the Village will agree to make the zoning changes necessary for the 56-unit development …
Rhode Island City Sues Santander Bank for Redlining
On May 29, 2014, the City of Providence, Rhode Island, filed a lawsuit in federal court against Santander Bank, N.A., accusing the bank of discrimination in mortgage lending. The City alleges that since 2009, Santander has deliberately discriminated by refusing to make prime mortgage loans available in minority neighborhoods, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. Since it …
Justice Department Increases Civil Monetary Penalties for Fair Housing Violations
On March 28, 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice published a notice increasing the civil monetary penalties for violations of the Fair Housing Act. Under the new rule, which applies to violations that occur on or after April 28, 2014, the maximum civil penalty for a first violation has increased from $55,000 to $75,000, and for subsequent violations …
Training on Fair Housing and Sexual Harassment, Domestic Violence and Unequal Access
On June 27, 2014, the Fair Housing Project, in conjunction with the North Carolina Bar Association, is sponsoring a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program titled “Home, Sweet Home: Litigating Fair Housing Claims (Based on Domestic Violence, Sexual Harassment, and Unequal Access).” The event will take place from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm at the NC Bar …
Pelham, NC, Landlord Order to Pay $36,000 for Race Discrimination
On April 10, 2014, a Virginia landlord with property in Pelham, NC, was ordered to pay $36,000 for discriminating against prospective African American tenants. The landlord, John Sylvania Matthews, III, resides in Danville, VA, and rents property in both Virginia and North Carolina. The case arose in September 2013, when an African American woman called him about a …
Fair Housing & Sustainable Communities Conference, 4/24/14
Registration is now open for the Fair Housing and Sustainable Communities Conference, which will be held in Durham, North Carolina, on Thursday, April 24, 2014. The conference will take place at Golden Belt , 807 E. Main Street, Durham, NC 27701, from 8:30 am – 12:30 pm. The conference, including a continental breakfast, is free, but registration …
HUD Finds City of Dallas in Noncompliance with Fair Housing Laws
In a 29-page letter dated November 22, 2013, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) found that the City of Dallas, TX, was in noncompliance with a number of fair housing and civil rights laws. The finding came as a result of a complaint filed by Curtis Lockey and Craig MacKenzie, affordable housing developers, who had …
HUD, Deutsche Bank Subsidiary Settle Lending Discrimination Case
On November 5, 2013, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it had reached a settlement with MortgageIT, Inc., Deutsche Bank subsidiary, regarding claims that the lender had discriminated in making mortgage loans. HUD had alleged that the lender discriminated against African American and Hispanic borrowers with practices that led to African Americans and …
NC residential segregation affects housing, environmental justice, education
A September 2013 report by the UNC Center for Civil Rights examines the connection between residential segregation in North Carolina and access to essential services and opportunities. “The State of Exclusion: An Empirical Analysis of the Legacy of Segregated Communities in North Carolina” maps the potential impacts of “community exclusion” in five areas: housing, environmental …