Non-Profit Sponsor Of 'Clean & Sober' Group Homes Scores $105K In Damages From NC Town In Settlement Of Fair Housing Suit

From the U.S. Department of Justice:

• The Justice Department announced [] that it has settled its suit against the town of Garner, N.C., and the town’s Board of Adjustment alleging that they violated the Fair Housing Act when refused to allow up to eight men recovering from drug and alcohol addictions to live together as a reasonable accommodation.

• Oxford House Inc., the non-profit organization that chartered the home, sponsors the development of self-governing houses in which recovering addicts support each other’s determination to remain sober. The case began when Garner refused to consider requests by Oxford House to increase the number of residents in the home from six to eight.

***

• Under the terms of the settlement, which must still be approved by the U.S. District Court in Raleigh, N.C., the defendants will pay $105,000 in monetary damages to Oxford House and $9,000 to the government as a civil penalty.(1)

For the DOJ press release, see Justice Department Settles Fair Housing Lawsuit Against Town of Garner, North Carolina.

(1) According to the press release, the settlement also requires the town to grant the reasonable accommodation requested by Oxford House, to submit periodic reports to the government, and to train town officials on the requirements of the Fair Housing Act. In December 2010, in connection with the parties’ proposed settlement, the town amended its zoning code to establish a procedure for addressing future requests for reasonable accommodations.