Recent Court Rulings

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Facts: A resident was evicted from her unit by a city marshal pursuant to a warrant of eviction obtained by the PHA. Her belongings were removed from the unit by the marshal, and were stored in a storage facility.

She was later restored to possession of the unit, and her belongings were returned, but some of her belongings were missing or had been damaged. The resident sued the PHA for the damages, and the PHA asked to the court dismiss the compla...

Facts: While on patrol duty for sites under the control of a PHA, a police officer encountered an individual sitting on a stoop in the courtyard of one of the sites. When the officer approached him, he got up and walked off, but stopped when the officer asked him to halt.

Facts: A resident regularly relied upon her friend to babysit her three children while she was at work. One day she was scheduled to begin work at 11 p.m. The friend arrived at her unit several hours before 11 p.m. so the resident could get some sleep before going to work. After his arrival, the resident went to sleep in her bedroom while the friend and her children remained in the living room.

Facts: A public housing resident entered into a lease agreement with the local PHA. The lease required the resident to go through an annual recertification process, which includes reporting any changes in income to the PHA within 10 days to ensure her eligibility for public housing and the accuracy of the rent calculation. She defaulted under the terms of the lease by failing to pay rent when due and by failing to disclose additional household income.

Facts: A Section 8 resident was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Her physician prescribed medicinal marijuana to help with her symptoms, and she obtained a medical marijuana card issued by the State of Michigan pursuant to the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.

Facts: A resident with a Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing voucher sued an owner in federal court, claiming that the owner failed to keep his unit habitable, invaded his privacy, and caused his voucher to be terminated by the PHA because his rental unit hadn’t been kept in good repair.

Facts: During a dispute with an owner over utilities, a Section 8 resident asked her local PHA for a transfer of her voucher to another unit. The PHA denied her request because she wasn’t in good standing with her current owner and after submitting additional hearing requests, she was again denied.

Facts: Two nonprofit insurance trade associations filed a lawsuit against HUD, challenging its final rule providing for liability based on disparate impact under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). HUD had recently finalized regulations that were intended to codify how a disparate impact claim is established, including the respective burdens that the plaintiffs and defendants must carry. Under “disparate impact,” a person may be held liable for disc...

Facts: In 2010, a Section 8 resident fell behind in paying her portion of her unit’s subsidized rent. The owner started an eviction lawsuit. The court issued an “Order for Possession,” finding that the owner was entitled to possession of the resident’s unit.

Facts: As a participant in the voucher program, a resident attended a recertification meeting in November 2010. In her recertification application, she stated that she didn’t receive income from self-employment, and listed Social Security payments as the sole source of income for herself and her five children.