Daily Real Estate News  |  September 7, 2007  |   Landmark Fair Housing Lawsuit Reaches a Settlement
The $1 million earmarked for victim compensation in a housing discrimination lawsuit in Baltimore will be distributed among 765 victims.

In the landmark case, the Maryland Disability Law Center, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Housing Authority of Baltimore City had jointly filed the suit alleging that the city had intentionally and illegally excluded thousands of people with disabilities from public housing.

The suit was settled in 2004, but last month, parties to the lawsuit jointly reached agreement on the settlement. Assuming the court approves the arrangement, each of the identified victims will receive about $1,300 sometime in the next few months, according to Lauren Young, the disability law center director.

Among those recommended for compensation are people who were denied housing because they used wheelchairs, and a person who had requested grab bars and fell repeatedly in the shower.

Source: The Baltimore Sun (08/18/07)