Owner May Be Liable for Third Party's Harassing Conduct

Facts: After 18 months of living at a site, a Section 8 African-American resident heard his next-door neighbor call him a racial slur. The resident was shocked and fearful, but didn’t respond. This was the start of a series of threatening encounters with his next-door neighbor. After one incident in which he was called a racial slur several times, the resident phoned 911, and a county hate crimes unit officer arrived and interviewed witnesses. The officer admonished the neighbor about the alleged racial epithets, and the resident filed a police report.