Housing Law Commons^™

Mains Farm V. Worthington: Fair Housing Laws And Fear Of Adult Family Homes, Todd H. Carlisle

Seattle University Law Review

Although the Mains Farm majority's conclusion that a group home for the disabled is neither a single-family dwelling nor a residential use is certainly questionable,7 this Note is neither intended as an addition to the "what is a family?" definitional debate, nor as a proposal that the issues decided in Mains Farm be re-litigated. Instead, this Note will: (1) analyze the Mains Farm controversy from the often ignored perspective of disabled individuals who benefit from community based group homes, and (2) present applicable state and federal law by which group homes threatened with judicial attack in the wake of the …

Introduction To Mortgage Lending Discrimination Law, Robert G. Schwemm

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Although mortgage lending discrimination and the laws that forbid it have been a part of the American landscape for over two decades, it has only been in recent years that this subject has captured the attention of the public, Congress, and federal enforcement officials. The result has been a tremendous upsurge in interest in this field. Still, there are relatively few cases that have been litigated to a conclusion on the merits, and fewer still that have resulted in plaintiff's victories. Thus, we find ourselves in an exciting period of great potential, but as yet not fully realized accomplishment, as …

The Fair Housing Act, Zoning, And Affordable Housing, Patricia E. Salkin, John M. Armentano

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

There Goes The Neighborhood: The Evolution Of "Family" In Local Zoning Ordinances, William Graham

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Fair Housing Litigation, Robert G. Schwemm

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This article is a revised version of the keynote address I gave at a conference entitled "Where is Fair Housing Headed in This Decade?" sponsored by The John Marshall Law School in the Fall of 1992. As its title implies, the conference focused on the future of fair housing, and my address dealt with certain developments that I felt were not only observable in the early years of the 1990s, but were also likely to be important in the remaining years of this decade.

Many of these developments—such as the growing role of the federal government in fair housing enforcement …

Constitutional Challenges To Section 812 Of The Fair Housing Act, Craig Sloan

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Housing Discrimination, Richard F. Bellman ,Esq., Richard Cahn ,Esq.

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Private Enforcement And The Fair Housing Act, Robert G. Schwemm

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The first section of the Fair Housing Act declares that "[i]t is the policy of the United States to provide, within constitutional limitations, for fair housing throughout the United States." If the United States has been officially committed to providing for fair housing for the past 20 years, why is segregated housing still the prevailing norm throughout our nation? Why does discrimination still regularly occur when minority homeseekers venture into white areas? Why are the opportunities for living in stable, integrated neighborhoods only marginally better now than they were a generation ago in the days of Lyndon Johnson, Everett McKinley …

The Necessity For Shelter: States Must Prohibit Discrimination Against Children In Housing, Gretchen Walsh

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This note surveys the different paths courts and legislatures have taken in their attempts to end housing discrimination against children, and concludes that the most feasible and appropriate solution to the problem is a more effective form of state legislation. Part II discusses the likelihood of success and the issues surrounding a claim based upon a denial of fourteenth amendment rights. Part III centers on the possibility of using the Fair Housing Act for a private cause of action and the problems with the proposed bill to amend the Act. Part IV examines the state statutes that attempt to ban …

Compensatory Damages In Federal Fair Housing Cases, Robert G. Schwemm

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The federal fair housing laws became effective in 1968. Since then, courts have often awarded damages to victims of housing discrimination, but their decisions have provided little guidance for assessing the amount of such awards. There is a great range of awards, with some courts awarding only nominal damages of $1 and others setting awards of over $20,000. Compounding the problem is the difficulty of measuring the principal element of damages claimed by most plaintiffs in fair housing cases, noneconomic emotional harm or other forms of intangible injury.

Rarely is the basis for the amount of the court's award satisfactorily …

Standing To Sue In Fair Housing Cases, Robert G. Schwemm

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Few procedural issues have commanded more attention from the Supreme Court in recent years than standing. The question of who is a proper party to bring a particular claim has arisen in a variety of contexts, but the Court has been especially active in addressing standing problems in cases concerning allegations of housing discrimination. The recent decision of Gladstone Realtors v. Village of Bellwood marked the fifth time in the past decade that the justices have decided a fair housing case on standing grounds.

The Supreme Court's determination to emphasize standing issues in many of its early fair housing opinions …

Discriminatory Effect And The Fair Housing Act, Robert G. Schwemm

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This article addresses the question of whether housing practices that produce discriminatory effects violate the Fair Housing Act. The language and legislative history of the statute are examined, the analogy to employment discrimination law is explored, and the principal Title VIII cases are considered in an effort to determine just what racial discrimination is under the Fair Housing Act. This analysis leads to a suggested approach for evaluating Title VIII cases that are based on discriminatory effect, including how such an effect may be shown by the plaintiff and what significance such a showing should have in terms of the …

The Statute Of Limitations In The Fair Housing Act: Trap For The Unwary, Edward Phillips Nickinson, Iii

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.