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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Susan (573) 751-1518
June 19, 2009
MCHR Investigation Leads to Record Housing Discrimination Award
Tenants Left Homebound Get $300K
JEFFERSON CITY, MO – The Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR) announced today that the St. Louis County Circuit Court has ordered an apartment’s owner and manager to pay $300,000 in damages to tenants in a case brought by the Commission. The case involved a landlord which had discriminated against two tenants with disabilities by removing the ramp which the tenants used to enter and exit their apartment, trapping them for approximately three weeks.
"The law has no tolerance for discrimination. When housing providers make their apartments inaccessible to people with disabilities, they are breaking the law,” said Alisa Warren, Executive Director of the MCHR.
The tenants are mobility-impaired and use wheel chairs and scooters. They had their own metal ramp attached to their apartment door to enter and exit. When the apartment building ownership changed hands, the new property manager removed their ramp several times after the tenants’ family members reinstalled it. Finally, the defendants made changes to the apartment grounds so that it would no longer accommodate the ramp, causing the tenants to be homebound and unable to enter or exit their apartment for approximately three weeks. As a result of the defendant’s actions, the tenants missed doctor appointments and had to have family members bring them groceries. Eventually, the tenants had to move to a new apartment.
"Landlords are required by law to allow tenants to make reasonable modifications to existing premises to accommodate their disabilities,” said Alisa Warren, Executive Director of the MCHR. “The court found the defendant’s actions to be illegal and unconscionable and therefore ordered the appropriate remedies.”
The case was heard in St. Louis County Circuit Court and the MCHR was represented by Rachel Lewis, an attorney for the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. The judge ordered a default judgment of $50,000 in actual damages and $100,000 in punitive damages to each resident, for a total award of $300,000. This is the largest award of damages in a housing case in MCHR history. The court also ordered the landlord to cease and desist from such unlawful discrimination.
The MCHR is an independent commission housed in the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. It is responsible for enforcing the Missouri Human Rights Act which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and places of public accommodation because of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex (including sexual harassment and pregnancy), disability and age (in employment only), and familial status (in housing only).
The MCHR has a work-sharing agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and works closely with the Region VII Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
The MCHR provides education and technical assistance to the employer community and to housing providers to promote voluntary compliance with the law. The MCHR provides outreach and education to employees, tenants, and customers to assist them in understanding their rights and responsibilities under the law. For more information about the MCHR or to file a discrimination or harassment complaint, visit www.labor.mo.gov/hr or call (573) 751-3325.
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