On July 27th, 2016, a 68-year-old woman who identifies as lesbian brought a civil right action under the Fair Housing Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act. The action was brought in the Northern District Court of Illinois. The plaintiff sought declaratory, injunctive, and compensatory and punitive damages against Defendants Glen St. Andrew Living Community (GSALC) and their administrators.

Plaintiff alleged that, throughout her time at GSALC, she was subjected to a pattern of discrimination and harassment because of her sex and sexual orientation, including persistent verbal harassment, threats, intimidation, and three separate assaults, at the hands of other residents. She alleged that she was called countless homophobic slurs, taunted about her relationship with partner and their child, threatened with bodily harm, bullied and intimidated in all of the communal spaces in the facility, and physically injured by other residents. She further alleged that, although she repeatedly complained about the sex- and sexual orientation-based harassment to GSALC staff, they gave no response. Instead, it was alleged that staff marginalized and alienated Marsha and retaliated against her for complaining about the harassment.

The case was assigned to Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan.

The defendants moved to dismiss the case on Aug. 22, 2016, which the court granted on Jan. 18, 2017. The court held that the plaintiff failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted because she did not allege a motive or intent to discriminate on the part of the defendants, that GSALC housing was discriminatory by being uninhabitable, or that the defendants acted because of her sexual orientation or gender.

The plaintiff appealed to the Seventh Circuit, where the case is currently ongoing.

Sihang Zhang - 01/04/2017
Virginia Weeks - 02/22/2018


compress summary