Aloqaili v. National Housing Corp.

743 F. Supp. 1264, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10408, 1990 WL 114446
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedApril 20, 1990
DocketCiv. 3:89CV7090
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 743 F. Supp. 1264 (Aloqaili v. National Housing Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aloqaili v. National Housing Corp., 743 F. Supp. 1264, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10408, 1990 WL 114446 (N.D. Ohio 1990).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

JOHN W. POTTER, District Judge.

This cause is before the Court on defendants’ motion for summary judgment, plaintiffs’ opposition, and defendants’ reply. This is a housing discrimination case. Plaintiffs claim that defendants discriminated against them in the terms, conditions, and privileges of rental and in the provision of services or facilities in connection with their rental unit. The basis for this discrimination, plaintiffs allege, is their religion (Islamic), the national origin, race, ancestry, or ethnic characteristics of plaintiff Carol Aloqaili’s husband (Arab/Palestinian Israeli), and/or their own race, ancestry, or ethnic characteristics (Arab/Palestinian Israeli). In counts one through four, plaintiffs allege violations of the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3619 (1977); 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (1981); 42 U.S.C. § 1982 (1981); and, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d (1981) et seq. (Title VI) respectively. In the fifth count, plaintiffs allege violations of Ohio Revised Code § 4112.02(H), (I), and (J). Finally, in counts six and seven, plaintiffs allege that defendants committed state common law torts of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. On one prior occasion, this Court examined the claims asserted in this complaint. In a Memorandum And Order filed September 19, 1989, this Court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Defendants’ instant motion asks this Court to grant summary judgment in their favor on all seven counts in the complaint. Once again, however, this Court is persuaded that defendants’ motion must be denied in its entirety since genuine issues of material fact are apparent.

This Court’s examination of the instant motion must begin with an examination of whether plaintiffs have standing to bring suit under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1982, and 2000d. In the September 19, 1989 opinion, this Court painstakingly examined each cause of action and determined that plaintiffs did have standing to bring this lawsuit. Defendants once again attack the standing of all three plaintiffs by alleging that the deposition testimony and other documents demonstrate that this Court’s initial determination of the standing issue was wrong. The defendants’ arguments are not persuasive.

Defendants’ current attack on the standing of plaintiff Carol Aloqaili is based on two arguments. First, defendants argue that the divorce decree granted to Carol and Akram Aloqaili April 13, 1989 robs Ms. Aloqaili of standing to pursue her claims. Second, defendants point to the deposition testimony of Carol Aloqaili to the effect that Akram Aloqaili stopped residing at Findlay Green Apartments prior to May, 1988. From this, defendants argue that any discrimination which Ms. Aloqaili may have suffered cannot be attributed to her relationship with Akram Aloqaili.

While noting in our earlier opinion that we were unclear as to whether plaintiff Carol Aloqaili continued to be married to Akram Aloqaili, this Court was aware *1267 that a Decree of Dissolution of Marriage had been filed. See Memorandum and Order, September 19, 1989, at p. 2. n. 1. Defendants have offered this Court no authority for the proposition that a divorce decree, granted subsequent to the acts which form the basis for a housing discrimination claim, robs the plaintiff of standing to pursue the claim. Indeed, this Court finds such an argument to be contrary to the very purpose of the statutes involved. This argument would, in effect, give a windfall to a defendant who discriminated against the family of someone within the protected class when that family is subsequently broken apart by a divorce decree. In the absence of controlling precedent, this Court will not be the first to create such a windfall. As for defendants’ second argument, this Court previously stated that “[p]laintiffs, by asserting that they were discriminated against because of their family relationship with an ethnic Arab, have stated a cause of action under § 1981.” Memorandum and Order, Sept. 19, 1989 at 3 (emphasis added). Since it was the relationship Ms. Aloqaili had with a member of the protected class at the time of the incidents giving rise to the lawsuit which forms the basis for her standing, this Court finds defendants’ proof of non-cohabitation to be a fact without consequence.

Defendants also allege that the plaintiff children lack standing to pursue their claims since “the record now developed establishes there is no evidence to support [a claim of distinct and palpable injury].” Defendants’ Memorandum in Support of Its Motion for Summary Judgment at 43. Defendants are correct in pointing out that there are two allegedly discriminatory incidents involving the children. The Court is satisfied that there is a genuine issue of material fact regarding the defendants’ motivation for prohibiting the children from playing on the grass and prohibiting the children from having a wading pool. Therefore, this Court finds that all plaintiffs have standing to pursue their claims of discrimination under the respective federal and state laws.

Having found that plaintiffs have standing to assert their claims of discrimination and emotional distress, this Court will turn its attention to the other grounds for summary judgment. This Court applies the following standard in resolving motions for summary judgment:

Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is proper only where there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The Supreme Court has recently stated that the inquiry is “whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. [477 U.S. 242], 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2512 [91 L.Ed.2d 202] (1986)_ In reviewing a motion for summary judgment, however, all inferences “ ‘must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion.’ ” See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. [475 U.S. 574], 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356-57 [89 L.Ed.2d 538] (1986) (quoting United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655 [82 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
743 F. Supp. 1264, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10408, 1990 WL 114446, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aloqaili-v-national-housing-corp-ohnd-1990.