Recent Court Rulings

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Facts: A disabled African-American resident sued a New York owner for discrimination based on her race or her disability. The resident lives in a one-bedroom unit with a daughter who’s also her live-in aide. According to the owner, the resident never added her daughter as an additional tenant to the lease or as a live-in aid. The resident claimed that even though her name was the next and only name on the waiting list for a two-bedroom unit at the site, the management unreasonably denied her the unit.

Facts: A Section 8 resident failed an initial inspection to check whether she’s maintaining her unit in compliance with federal standards. Federal law requires that all housing assisted by the voucher program meet certain housing quality standards at the start of occupancy and throughout the tenancy. In order to be eligible for continued voucher program benefits, a tenant must let the local PHA inspect the unit at reasonable times and after reasonable notice.

Facts: A Section 8 resident sued the former chairperson of the local PHA’s board of commissioners. The resident claimed that the chairperson improperly allowed the director of the Section 8 program at the PHA to terminate the resident from the Section 8 program because of the resident’s race and status as a grandparent.

Facts: Under the Housing Act, HUD provides monetary assistance to PHAs for the development, operation, and maintenance of low-income housing. In exchange for the subsidy, PHAs must comply with federal regulations issued by HUD under the Housing Act. The terms of this grant agreement are set forth in Annual Contributions Contracts between HUD and the PHA.

Facts: A resident was evicted from her unit by a city marshal pursuant to a warrant of eviction obtained by the PHA. Her belongings were removed from the unit by the marshal, and were stored in a storage facility.

She was later restored to possession of the unit, and her belongings were returned, but some of her belongings were missing or had been damaged. The resident sued the PHA for the damages, and the PHA asked to the court dismiss the complaint for failure to state a cause of action. The court granted that request. The resident appealed.

Facts: While on patrol duty for sites under the control of a PHA, a police officer encountered an individual sitting on a stoop in the courtyard of one of the sites. When the officer approached him, he got up and walked off, but stopped when the officer asked him to halt.

Facts: A resident regularly relied upon her friend to babysit her three children while she was at work. One day she was scheduled to begin work at 11 p.m. The friend arrived at her unit several hours before 11 p.m. so the resident could get some sleep before going to work. After his arrival, the resident went to sleep in her bedroom while the friend and her children remained in the living room.

Facts: A public housing resident entered into a lease agreement with the local PHA. The lease required the resident to go through an annual recertification process, which includes reporting any changes in income to the PHA within 10 days to ensure her eligibility for public housing and the accuracy of the rent calculation. She defaulted under the terms of the lease by failing to pay rent when due and by failing to disclose additional household income.

Facts: A Section 8 resident was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Her physician prescribed medicinal marijuana to help with her symptoms, and she obtained a medical marijuana card issued by the State of Michigan pursuant to the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.

Facts: A resident with a Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing voucher sued an owner in federal court, claiming that the owner failed to keep his unit habitable, invaded his privacy, and caused his voucher to be terminated by the PHA because his rental unit hadn’t been kept in good repair.