Fair Housing Amendment Violation

By: Derek Hawkins//July 6, 2017//

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Affordable Recovery Housing v. City of Blue Island, et al.

Case No.: 16-3677

Officials: BAUER, POSNER, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Fair Housing Amendment Violation

The Fair Housing Amendments Act forbids “mak[ing] unavailable or deny[ing] a dwelling to any buyer or renter because of a handicap of … a person residing in or intending to reside in that dwelling.” 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(1). But Affordable of course was not trying to exclude handicapped persons from its facilities, and Blue Island’s exclusion when it forced the 73 residents to leaves was quickly undone when Affordable discovered the supervening state law regarding sprinkler systems. Affordable not having prevailed on any claims that allow for fee‐shifting from the loser to the winner of a lawsuit, the “American Rule,” requiring each party to bear the expense of its lawyers, governs, barring Affordable’s money claims.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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