The owners and operators of the Summerhill Place Apartments in Renton will pay $110,000 in damages and civil penalties to settle a lawsuit alleging violations of the federal Fair Housing Act.
The lawsuit was filed last July by the U.S. Justice Department, which was investigating allegations the 268-unit apartment complex on Benson Hill discriminated against African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Indian Americans and families with children.
“Working families already face enough challenges finding affordable housing,” said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said in a Justice Department press release Tuesday.
“Unlawful discrimination because of their race, their national origin, or because they have children, should not be one of them,” he said.
According to the press release, the order agreed to by the Justice Department and Summerhill Place owners requires the owners:
• Pay $85,000 to tenants and prospective tenants who were harmed by the discriminatory practices alleged in the lawsuit;
• Pay $25,000 to the government as a civil penalty;
• Maintain a common recreational area for all their tenants, including children;
• Provide fair housing training to their employees; and
• Develop and maintain non-discrimination policies at Summerhill.
Named in the lawsuit were Summerhill Place LLC, Gran Inc. and Rita Lovejoy, who complex manager when the violations were alleged to have occurred. She is no longer employed by the other defendants.
The owners issued a statement through their attorney, Pamela H. Salgado, with Bullivant Houser Bailey PC:
“Summerhill is committed to compliance with the Fair Housing laws, so many items identified in the Consent Decree are things that already are done by Summerhill (for instance, training). Some modifications will be required but they are not particularly burdensome. Summerhill Apartments and GRAN strongly disputed the U.S. Attorney’s position. In light, however, of the cost of litigation and the diversion of resources that it would have required, Summerhill Apartments and GRAN made a business decision to settle the matter. Summerhill Apartments and GRAN has always been and continues to be committed to compliance with the Fair Housing laws.”
The settlement must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
“I am pleased that this settlement will both assist those who were discriminated against, and ensure rights are protected going forward,” said U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Jenny A. Durkan in the press release. “The fair housing training for Summerhill’s employees and the plan to provide a recreation area for all the tenants, including children, will provide a brighter future for all prospective residents.”
According to the press release, defendants steered Indian tenants away from one of the five buildings at Summerhill, treated tenants from India less favorably than other tenants and discouraged African-Americans, Hispanics and families with children from living at Summerhill.
The Summerhill Apartment complex is at 10415 S.E. 174th St.
The suit arose after the Fair Housing Council of Washington conducted testing at Summerhill. The results were reported to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
After an investigation, the secretary of HUD determined that there was reasonable cause to believe that discriminatory housing practices had occurred, issued a charge of discrimination, and referred the matter to the Department of Justice, according to the press release.
THE SETTLEMENT
The settlement establishes a process to determine which individuals are entitled to share in the settlement fund. Persons who believe they were subjected to unlawful discrimination at Summerhill should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743 mailbox # 9997 or e-mail the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov.
