Recent Court Rulings

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Facts: A public housing resident appealed the dismissal of her civil rights suit against the local PHA and its property manager for alleged racial discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). In the original complaint, the resident alleged that during an encounter late in 2014, the property manager racially discriminated against her and harassed her on account of her child-custody issues. Because she is white and her male partner is black,...

Facts: After the local PHA successfully obtained a court order to evict a resident, the resident filed a First Amendment retaliation claim against the PHA and a false arrest charge against police officers. The resident claimed that she was unlawfully retaliated against by the local PHA for tenant organizing, a form of speech she contends is protected by the First Amendment.

Facts: A public housing resident asked a court for a special proceeding to review a determination by the local PHA that she had violated certain provisions of her lease and, thus, was justified in terminating her tenancy.

Facts: A Section 8 resident lived with a live-in aide. Only the resident was on the lease. When the heating and air conditioning unit was damaged, the owner blamed the resident, threatening to evict her. In March 2016, the resident was served with a notice to vacate the property. Despite taking the resident to court, the owner didn’t evict her. But again in May 2016, the owner served the resident with an eviction notice, stating that her $81 porti...

Facts: Household members sued the local PHA, alleging that the PHA was negligent because it failed to eradicate a bedbug infestation condition. The residents claimed that the condition began in 2012 and continued to date. The PHA admitted that the unit had bedbugs on and off over a period of time, but denied any liability. The residents asked the court for a ruling on the issue of the PHA’s liability for failing to eradicate bedbugs in the unit.

Facts: An owner sought to evict a Section 8 resident. The resident asked the court to dismiss the case based on an allegedly defective termination notice.

Facts: A group of public housing residents sued their local PHA, claiming that it violated HUD regulations and the state’s contract law by charging them monthly rent above the lawful ceiling and by failing to conduct annual reviews and interim adjustments of residents’ utility allowances. Each resident, in addition to paying rent, has been required to pay a third-party utility provider for various utilities.

Facts: A resident qualified for a voucher in 2011 and used it to obtain a lease at an apartment site. The resident’s lease and Housing Assistance Payment contract made the PHA responsible for paying the entire monthly rental cost to the owner directly and assigned the resident responsibility for paying electricity, natural gas, water, and sewer bills. To cover those utility costs, the resident received monthly checks from the PHA.

Facts: On March 12, 2013, a site owner entered into a contract to purchase a 10-unit residential apartment building. Since 2008, the previous owner had received subsidy payments from HUD to assist low-income families living in the apartments. These payments were pursuant to a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract. The new owner claimed that it relied on the existence of the HAP contract in deciding to purchase the site, and anticipated that the HAP ...

Facts: In 2014, the owner of a federally subsidized apartment building in Baltimore hired an extermination company to treat the site for a bedbug infestation. Two exterminators entered a disabled resident’s apartment and saw what looked to them like a marijuana plant growing in his bathtub. They reported this to the building’s management office. Someone in the office contacted the police, and an officer responded.