Case: Harrison v. Otto G. Heinzeroth Mortgage Company

3:74-cv-00390 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

Filed Date: Sept. 24, 1974

Closed Date: March 4, 1977

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Case Summary

Plaintiffs filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in 1974, alleging that they had wrongfully be denied credit for a home purchase in violation of the Fair Housing Act ("FHA"), 42 U.S.C. § 3604. Plaintiffs, a white couple, had attempted to finance a home purchase in a racially integrated neighborhood by applying for a loan with the Defendant-lender; when rejected, plaintiffs obtained less favored terms of credit from an alternative source. Plaintiffs sought money…

Plaintiffs filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in 1974, alleging that they had wrongfully be denied credit for a home purchase in violation of the Fair Housing Act ("FHA"), 42 U.S.C. § 3604. Plaintiffs, a white couple, had attempted to finance a home purchase in a racially integrated neighborhood by applying for a loan with the Defendant-lender; when rejected, plaintiffs obtained less favored terms of credit from an alternative source. Plaintiffs sought money damages for the cost differential between the terms of credit they would have received from Defendant and the loan they eventually received. The Plaintiffs' attorney was associated with the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing, Inc. (NCDH), a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit.

On March 28, 1976, Judge Don J. Young rejected the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, holding that "[r]acial discrimination in the management of an apartment building cannot be distinguished from racial discrimination in the extending of loans according to neighborhoods." Harrison v. Otto G. Heinzeroth Mortg. Co., 414 F. Supp. 66, 67 (N.D. Ohio 1976). On March 4, 1977, the District Court held in favor of the plaintiffs on their claims and awarded them a $7,500 judgment. Harrison v. Otto G. Heinzeroth Mortg. Co., 430 F. Supp. 893 (N.D. Ohio 1977). These plaintiffs were the first plaintiffs to ever successfully litigate a case through to judgment in a suit alleging a violation of the Fair Housing Act premised on a race-based denial of credit.

Summary Authors

Andrew Nash (6/2/2008)

People


Judge(s)

Young, Don John (Ohio)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Harris, John A. III (Ohio)

Mulkeen, Jay (District of Columbia)

Tafelski, Joseph R. (Ohio)

Attorney for Defendant

Handwork, Peter M. (Ohio)

Judge(s)

Young, Don John (Ohio)

Attorney for Defendant

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document

3:74-cv-00390

Memorandum and Order [Denying Motion to Dismiss]

May 28, 1976

May 28, 1976

Order/Opinion

414 F.Supp. 414

3:74-cv-00390

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

March 4, 1977

March 4, 1977

Order/Opinion

430 F.Supp. 430

Docket

Last updated March 26, 2024, 3:12 a.m.

Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.

Case Details

State / Territory: Ohio

Case Type(s):

Fair Housing/Lending/Insurance

Key Dates

Filing Date: Sept. 24, 1974

Closing Date: March 4, 1977

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Man seeking a home mortgage offered very unfavorable terms by a loan officer who said that it was because the neighborhood in question was a transitional (mixed white/black) area, and therefore was higher risk.

Plaintiff Type(s):

Private Plaintiff

Public Interest Lawyer: No

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

Otto G. Heinzeroth Mortgage Company, Private Entity/Person

Case Details

Causes of Action:

Fair Housing Act/Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601 et seq.

Available Documents:

Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief

Any published opinion

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Plaintiff

Nature of Relief:

Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement

Damages

Source of Relief:

Litigation

Order Duration: 1977 - None

Issues

General:

Funding

Racial segregation

Discrimination-area:

Lending

Discrimination-basis:

Race discrimination

Race:

Black