On December 6, 2010, the United States filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The DOJ filed under 42 U.S.C. 3601 of the Fair Housing Act against the owner of the Burgundy Gardens Apartments, LLC. The U.S. Department of Justice asked the Court to 1) declare that the defendant's conduct was a violation of the Fair Housing Act, 2) enjoin the defendant and its workers from continuing to discriminate on the basis of race or color in the rental of dwellings, 3) award monetary damages to persons harmed by Defendant's discriminatory practices, and 4) assess a civil penalty against the defendant.

Specifically, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant engaged in racially discriminatory housing practices at Burgundy Gardens Apartments by failing to inform African-American prospective tenants about available apartments, telling African Americans prospective tenants that the prices for rental apartments were higher than the prices quoted to similarly situated non-African-America persons, and failing to show African-American prospective tenants available apartments, while at the same time, showing similarly situated non-African American persons available apartments and negotiating for the rental of such apartments.

On April 4, 2012, the parties reached a settlement in which the defendant was enjoined from discriminating against any person in terms, conditions, or privileges of renting a dwelling because of race. The defendant also agreed to implement a Nondiscrimination Policy and to notify the public of its implementation. The defendant paid $150,000 to those harmed by its discriminatory practices. The defendant paid an additional $25,000 to the United States as a civil penalty.

On June 13, 2016, Judge Kenneth M. Karas ordered the defendant to distribute $65,055.20 of the settlement fund to Legal Aid Society of Rockland County and New York Legal Assistance Group.

Asma Husain - 01/31/2016
- 01/31/2016


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