Justice Department reaches $750K settlement in Fort Valley housing discrimination case
The Justice Department said the settlement is the second largest ever obtained in an individual Fair Housing Act case.
FORT VALLEY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a $750,000 settlement with multiple property management companies over allegations of disability discrimination involving an apartment complex in Fort Valley, according to the United States Attorney’s Office Middle District of Georgia.
The agreement resolves claims that Indian Oaks Apartments LTD, Russell Management Services LLC, H.J. Russell & Company, and The Russell Realty LP violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to grant a mother’s repeated requests for a ground-floor unit for her son, who has a genetic disorder causing permanent mobility impairment.
The Justice Department said the settlement is the second largest ever obtained in an individual Fair Housing Act case.
The lawsuit, filed October 23, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, alleges the companies failed to provide a reasonable accommodation over a 14-month period despite the availability of multiple ground-floor units.
According to the complaint, the family’s living situation made it difficult for the mother to carry her son in and out of the apartment without assistance, resulting in physical, psychological and emotional harm for the child and lost academic and social opportunities for his siblings.
“The defendants should have moved this family with a terminally ill child to a ground-floor unit without delay,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Americans with disabilities have the right to equal access to housing in the United States, and this Justice Department will continue to ensure the protection of this right.”
“Refusing to move a terminally ill child and his family, when ground-floor units were available, was a clear violation of both law and decency,” said U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes. “Rental property owners and their employees must know and follow the Fair Housing Act, as denying reasonable accommodations is illegal, and our office will not hesitate to pursue those who break the law.”
As part of the settlement, the defendants will pay $750,000 to the family, implement policy changes, undergo training, and report future reasonable accommodation requests at properties they own or operate.
