Home Business Real Estate Lowell property firm agrees to settlement in discrimination case

Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Associated Press

LOWELL - A property management firm has agreed to pay as much as $158,000 to settle allegations that it discriminated against Cambodian-Americans who tried to rent apartments, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.

Pine Properties Inc. and six affiliate companies would pay up to $114,000 to compensate victims under the settlement, which is subject to approval by a federal judge in Boston. The settlement also requires Pine Properties to pay a $44,000 fine and take steps to ensure it doesn’t practice further discrimination.

The defendants, who own and operate 13 rental properties in Lowell, refused to show available apartments to Cambodian-Americans who didn’t have appointments, while white people were shown apartments immediately without appointments, the department said.

A phone message seeking comment from Pine Properties was not immediately returned Tuesday.

The government sued Pine Properties and the affiliates in September, alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act. The Justice Department said the lawsuit was the first the agency has ever filed alleging discrimination against Asian-American based on its fair housing testing program.

The case grew out of Operation Home Sweet Home, an initiative to enforce fair housing laws using people who pose undercover as prospective tenants or homeowners.

Alleged Housing Discrimination Against Cambodian-Americans in Lowell, Massachusetts

Operation Home Sweet Home Results in Filing of Housing Lawsuit Alleging Discrimination Against Asian-Americans in Lowell, Massachusetts

Friday, September 28, 2007
WEBWIRE

WASHINGTON - The Civil Rights Division today announced the first lawsuit ever filed by the Department alleging discrimination against Asian-Americans based upon its fair housing tests–an example of the Division’s successful efforts in Operation Home Sweet Home. The complaint alleges that Pine Properties Inc. and six affiliated entities violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating based on national origin against Cambodian-Americans seeking to rent apartments. The defendants own and operate 14 rental properties in Lowell, Mass.

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Boston, alleges that the defendants subjected Cambodian-American apartment seekers to requirements not imposed on white apartment seekers. It further alleges that the defendants’ actions included refusing to show available apartments to Cambodian-American apartment seekers because they did not have a separate appointment, while at the same time taking white persons to see available dwellings immediately, with no prior appointment.

The lawsuit seeks a court order prohibiting future discrimination and requiring the defendants to pay monetary damages to compensate victims and a civil penalty.

“Operation Home Sweet Home uncovered discrimination against Cambodian-Americans–a protected class,” said Rena J. Comisac, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Applying more stringent standards to Cambodian-American apartment seekers is just as discriminatory as a blatant policy of refusing to rent to them.”

The Department of Justice conducted its investigation in this case through the use of fair-housing testers – individuals who pose as renters to gather information about possible discriminatory practices in the rental of apartments. This is the first lawsuit alleging discrimination against Asian-American that the Department has filed based on such testing evidence.

Operation Home Sweet Home is a concentrated initiative of the Department of Justice to expose and eliminate housing discrimination in America. This initiative was inspired by the plight of displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina who were suddenly forced to find new places to live. Operation Home Sweet Home is not limited to the areas hit by Hurricane Katrina and targets housing discrimination across the country. More information about Operation Home Sweet Home is available at the Justice Department Web site at:
http://www.usdoj.gov/fairhousing

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. Since Jan. 1, 2001, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has filed 237 cases to enforce the Fair Housing Act. For more information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces, visit http://www.usdoj.gov/crt. Individuals who believe they may have been injured by the defendants’ discrimination should call the Department at 1-800-896-7743, ext. 95.