WV Landlord Agrees To Settle Civil Rights Feds' Suit Alleging Three Former Employees Sexually Harassed, Retaliated Against Female Tenants In Violation Of Fair Housing Act; 11 Victims To Split $110K, Gov't To Pocket $10K In Penalties

From the U.S. Department of Justice (Washington, D.C.):

• The Justice Department announced [] that the owner and former property manager of Perkins Parke Apartments (Perkins Parke) in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, have agreed to pay $120,000 in damages and civil penalties to settle a lawsuit alleging that three former agents sexually harassed and retaliated against female tenants in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA).
  
  The department’s complaint, filed in November 2014, alleged that Perkins Parke’s district manager, Anthony James, and maintenance worker, Christopher T. James, sexually harassed female tenants at the complex, and that Perkins Parke’s site manager, Kisha James, failed to take appropriate steps when tenants complained about the harassment.
  
  The complaint alleged that the harassment included entering the residences of female tenants without permission or notice; coercing female tenants to engage in unwelcome sexual acts; making unwelcome sexual comments and unwelcome sexual advances to female tenants; subjecting female tenants to unwanted sexual touching and other unwanted sexual acts; and taking adverse actions against female residents when they refused the sexual advances or reported the unwelcome conduct.
  
  This lawsuit arose as a result of complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by five tenants. After an investigation of the complaints, HUD issued a charge of discrimination and referred the case to Justice Department.
  
  The settlement, which is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of West Virginia, requires Perkins’ Parke former property manager, Encore Management Company Inc., and the property’s owner, Perkins Parke LP, to pay $110,000 to eleven victims of sexual harassment and $10,000 to the United States as a civil penalty. The settlement resolves the lawsuit with respect to Encore Management Company Inc. and Perkins Parke LP, but not the individual defendants.
  
  
  ***
  
  Fighting illegal housing discrimination is a top priority of the Department of Justice. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Justice Department at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov, or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777 or through its website.

Source: Kanawha County, West Virginia, Property Manager and Owner to Pay $120,000 to Settle Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Filed by Justice Department.