Saturday, February 20, 2016

Alabama Construction Company Denies Discrimination Charges, But Agrees To $350K Fair Housing/ADA 'Squeeze' To Resolve Allegations It Built Low-Income Housing Complexes Throughout South That Contained Significant Barriers For People With Disabilities

In Birmingham, Alabama, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports:
  • An Alabama-based construction company is settling claims that it built housing complexes that violate the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

    Documents filed in U.S. District Court in Birmingham [] say Gateway Construction Corporation, its owner and CEO Allan Rappuhn and affiliated companies are ordered to create a $300,000 settlement account and pay a $50,000 civil penalty.

    Prosecutors have said Gateway used federal low-income housing tax credit incentives to build complexes that posed significant barriers to disabled people. The lawsuit listed 36 properties in Alabama, 25 in Georgia, nine in North Carolina and one in Tennessee.

    Gateway officials said in a statement that they agreed to the settlement to avoid time and cost of litigation and the company denies all of the justice department's allegations.