Landlord Who Evicted Families for Letting Children Play Outside Enters Into $65,000 Consent Decree

(EL MONTE, CA, April 5, 2002) The owners and the management company of an El Monte, California apartment complex have paid $65,000 under a Consent Decree and Court Order and will participate in a comprehensive fair housing training and advertising program to settle claims of familial status discrimination.

The Housing Rights Center (formerly the Fair Housing Council of San Gabriel Valley) along with the families of Daniel and Angela DeLeon, and Bernadette Becerra, sued Tweedy Management Services (TMS) and the property’s owners in federal court, alleging that defendants discriminated against tenants and on the basis of familial status in the operation of the apartment complex.

Specifically, the complaint alleged that defendants enforced an unwritten policy prohibiting children from playing outside. The families had multiple disputes with TMS over the enforcement of the policy, and experienced the eventual termination of their tenancies.

Along with the payment of $65,000, under the Consent Decree and Order signed by Judge Dickran Tevrizian on April 5, 2002, the defendants must participate in a comprehensive two-year program under the court’s jurisdiction. The terms include fair housing training for each defendant; distribution to all tenants of new, child-neutral house rules written; distribution to all their tenants of fair housing pamphlets; family-affirmative advertising; and display of fair housing posters.

The Consent Decree is the first obtained by the newly merged organization, the Housing Rights Center (formerly the Fair Housing Council of San Gabriel Valley and the Westside Fair Housing Council).

The plaintiffs were represented by Gary Rhoades and Danielle Jones with the Housing Rights Center and Christopher Brancart of Brancart & Brancart. Defendants were represented by John Selbak of Musick, Peeler and Garrett.

[Fair Housing Council, et. al. v. Tweedy Management Services, et. al, No. 01-03117 DT (C.D. Cal. 4-05-02)]; Fair Housing-Fair Lending Rptr. ¶ 7.13 (July 2002).