Recent Court Rulings

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  Facts: A resident lived in a formerly federally subsidized property. From 2014 to 2017, the site’s physical conditions deteriorated, as shown by failing Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) inspections and by the resident’s personal account of the poor conditions in his unit.

Fact: A few months after a Section 8 resident moved into his unit, his next-door neighbor began a relentless campaign of racial harassment, abuse, and threats directed toward him. From the start of the harassment, the resident, “fear[ing] for his personal safety,” contacted the police and the site’s management to complain. His first call to the police in March 2012 prompted the local police hate crimes unit officers to visit the site, interview witnesses, and warn the neighbor to stop threatening the resident with racial epithets.

Facts: A disabled resident undergoing mental health treatment sued the local PHA for discrimination based on the PHA’s policy concerning “therapy pets.” A month after he moved in, the resident got a cat, and sometime later got a second cat. He claimed that his cats help to manage his depression and anxiety by giving him purpose and otherwise making him feel happy.

Facts: A resident sued the local PHA and HUD for a fractured ankle he suffered when he slipped on a sidewalk in front of the site. The resident alleged that his lease requires the PHA “to maintain the dwelling unit and the project in decent, safe, and sanitary condition,” and that the PHA and HUD breached this lease.