March 2001 Newsletter
ATTORNEY
TRAINING SEMINAR
DATE SET
The
North Dakota Fair Housing Council (NDFHC) will be sponsoring an Attorney
Training Seminar in Fargo on June 12, 2001.
The seminar will run from 9 AM-3 PM and will be held at the Kelly
Inn.
The
NDFHC will be applying for CLE credits for this seminar.
The NDFHC last held an Attorney Training Seminar in 1998 in
Bismarck. Well over 50
attorneys attended in 1998.
If you would like to be on our mailing list to receive registration information, please contact the NDFHC.
PARTIES
AGREE TO SETTLEMENT IN FAIR HOUSING LAWSUIT
Bismarck,
ND, February 6, 2001 – A lawsuit alleging sexual harassment
discrimination in housing was settled today on its first day of trial.
In October, 1999, the North Dakota Fair Housing Council (NDFHC) and
two Bismarck women filed a lawsuit against Virgil Woeste, a Bismarck
landlord, alleging discrimination based upon gender and sexual harassment
in housing. At the time the
lawsuit was filed, Mr. Woeste managed the 40-unit Century Apartments.
Mr. Woeste later sold Century Apartments.
The parties agreed to a settlement of an
undisclosed amount. In the
consent decree, Mr. Woeste acknowledged that he no longer had any
ownership in Century Apartments or any other residential rental property
and also agreed that he would not manage or own residential rental
property in the future. Mr.
Woeste admits no liability in the consent decree.
The
federal law that governs housing discrimination is the Fair Housing Act
(FHA), which was passed by Congress in 1968.
The FHA forbids discrimination in the sale, rental or financing of
housing on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender,
familial status (presence of children), or disability.
The North Dakota Century Code on Human Rights forbids similar kinds
of discrimination and also gives further protection to individuals on the
basis of age, and status with respect to marriage and public assistance.
The North Dakota Fair Housing Council is a North
Dakota non-profit organization located in Bismarck.
The NDFHC’s mission is to provide support, encouragement, and
assistance to those seeking equal access to housing in the state of North
Dakota. The NDFHC also investigates complaints of housing
discrimination.
The NDFHC and the individual plaintiffs are
represented in the lawsuit by Marilyn Foss, a Bismarck lawyer, and by
Christopher Brancart, a lawyer from Pescadero, California who specializes
in fair housing litigation. Mr.
Woeste was represented by Ralph Vinje, a Bismarck lawyer and Steven
Marquart, a lawyer from Moorhead, Minnesota.
OTTO
BREMER PROVIDES GRANT TO NDFHC
In December, 2000, the North Dakota Fair Housing Council was
notified that it had received a grant for $31,122 to perform outreach and
investigation of housing discrimination complaints in the rural cities of
North Dakota.
The Otto Bremer Foundation’s mission is to be an accessible and
responsible resource to aid in the development and cohesion of communities
within the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Montana with
preference given to those communities served by the affiliates of Bremer
Financial Corporation.
FARGO
APARTMENT OWNERS AND MANAGERS AGREE TO SETTLE
Washington, D.C., October 17, 2000 – The former owners and
managers of a downtown Fargo, North Dakota apartment complex will pay
$15,000 to settle allegations that they discriminated against families
with children, under an agreement reached today with the Justice
Department.
The agreement, filed in the U.S. District Court in Fargo, resolves
a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in 1999, charging the owners and
managers of the Billmeyer Apartments discriminated against families with
children.
The suit stemmed from a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by a married couple.
The couple alleged that the owners and managers violated the
federal Fair Housing Act by discriminating against them after the
husband's son moved in with the couple.
HUD investigated the complaint and referred the matter to the
Justice Department for litigation after efforts to resolve the matter
through conciliation proved unsuccessful.
"It has been over 30 years since the Fair Housing Act was
passed and 12 years since discrimination against families with children
under 18 was outlawed, yet discrimination against families with children
continues to be a very real problem in North Dakota and other parts of the
country," said Bill Lann Lee, Assistant Attorney General for Civil
Rights. "This agreement
sends a clear message that we will take aggressive action against those
who deny housing to families with children."
The complaint alleges that William Brandt, Richard Jordahl, and
Powers Properties, who owned the Billmeyer Apartments, located at 37 7th
Street North, Fargo, as well as Velva Peterson, Jesse Craig, Terrace
Management Company, and NCM Properties, Inc., who managed the complex,
discriminated against a married couple after the husband's six-year-old
son moved in with them. It
asserts that the defendants repeatedly told the family that no children
were allowed at the Billmeyer Apartments and that the child would have to
leave, prohibited the child from playing in common areas of the complex,
raised the family's rent due to the presence of the child, and otherwise
treated the family less favorably than other tenants because they had a
child living with them.
In addition to the $15,000 penalty, the settlement prohibits the
owners and managers from engaging in discriminatory acts in the future and
requires them to complete an educational program concerning fair housing
law and to take other steps to prevent discrimination.
The settlement must still be approved by the court.
The NDFHC will be hosting a number of fair housing workshops in
2001. Dates set so far are as
follows:
April 19-Grand Forks
May 3-Williston
May 16-Wahpeton
May 17-Fargo
The NDFHC also anticipates hosting workshops in the cities of:
Devils Lake, Jamestown, Minot and Bismarck in the upcoming year.
Workshops cover a variety of topics dealing with fair housing and
are typically 4-5 hours in length. Topics
covered include: federal law,
case law, new design/construction, reasonable accommodation and
modifications, and advertising to name just a few.
The North Dakota Fair Housing Council (NDFHC) is seeking volunteers
to assist in gathering information about housing practices in North
Dakota. Volunteers are needed
for all major cities in North Dakota. Minority volunteers are especially needed.
Volunteers are needed who can objectively gather information about
the availability of housing while posing as a prospective renter.
Training is provided and volunteers are paid a stipend for their
time and expenses depending on the task assigned.
For more information, contact the NDFHC toll-free at
1-888-265-0907.
The North Dakota Fair Housing Council (NDFHC) is always seeking
volunteers for its Board of Directors.
According to the NDFHC by-laws, Board members cannot rent out
residential property to the public in the State of North Dakota or be a
member of any apartment or realtor association.
The NDFHC seeks Board members from social service agencies, as well
as private citizens interested in eliminating housing discrimination in
North Dakota.
Contact the NDFHC for more information if you are interested.