Recent Court Rulings

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Facts: A resident and his fiancé sued an owner for housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, and familial status. The complaints were based on certain exchanges they had with property management and staff. According to the lawsuit, a maintenance technician “repeatedly insult[ed]” the resident “in the presence of other residents.” In April 2015, they wrote to the regional manager to request that the...

Facts: In early 2013, federal government cuts in discretionary spending resulted in a $21 million reduction in funding for a local housing authority’s voucher program. To address this decrease in funding, the housing authority made significant revisions to its administration of the Section 8 program.

Facts: A Section 8 resident sued the local PHA and its executive director based on their termination of her voucher. She asserted a violation of her due process rights and violations of her right to a reasonable accommodation for her son’s disability. She also asked the judge for a Temporary Restraining Order and a preliminary injunction seeking reinstatement of her family’s Section 8 voucher while this lawsuit is pending.

Facts: A group of Section 8 owners sued the local PHA for breach of their housing assistance payment (HAP) contracts. Under these contracts, the tenants are required to pay a percentage of their income to the owners, the housing agencies pay the remaining rent, and HUD reimburses the housing agencies.

Facts: A Section 8 applicant sued the local PHA and HUD for placing him on the waiting list for Section 8 housing. The applicant claimed that he suffers from various mental disabilities. He alleged that his placement on the waiting list violates his rights under the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the United States Constitution.

Facts: A Section 8 resident sued the management company for unjust enrichment. She claimed that the company raised her rent without authorization and unjustly retained money paid to the company by HUD on her behalf.

Facts: A spouse of a voucher holder claimed that the local PHA deprived her of her due process rights by denying her the opportunity to be heard at a hearing to determine the termination of a voucher held by her husband. She wasn’t the voucher holder herself.

Facts: In a consolidated lawsuit, over 300 PHAs sued the United States for breach of contract. They claimed that HUD breached their Annual Contributions Contracts (ACC) in 2012 when it didn’t comply with the rules set forth at Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations that govern the allocation of operating subsidies when funds are not available to pay them in full.

Facts: A public housing resident signed a year-long lease. The lease stated that it “shall automatically be renewed for successive terms of 12 months” unless modified or terminated in accordance with certain lease provisions. On the day of signing, the resident met with a site employee, to review the lease terms. At that meeting, the resident was accompanied by the father of her three children. The employee asked her if the father would be l...

Facts: The family of a 16-year-old boy sued a site owner over the shooting death of the boy outside of his cousin’s apartment. According to an affidavit of the property manager, the boy was shot by a visitor of a resident. Another resident testified that the shooter had been staying at his girlfriend’s apartment at the site for two years. The shooter was the father of one of the resident’s children, and he would stay and babysit his ch...