By: Derek Hawkins//July 6, 2017//
7th 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