Mabry v. Village Management, Inc.

109 F.R.D. 76
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedNovember 4, 1985
DocketNo. 85 C 6093
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 109 F.R.D. 76 (Mabry v. Village Management, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mabry v. Village Management, Inc., 109 F.R.D. 76 (N.D. Ill. 1985).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ASPEN, District Judge:

This matter is pending before this Court on the private defendants’ motion to consolidate this case with Gautreaux v. Pierce, Nos. 66 C 1459/1460, under Fed.R.Civ.P. 42(a). In the alternative, these defendants request a transfer of this case to this Court as a matter related to Gautreaux under Local Rule 2.31.1 For the reasons stated below, the defendants’ motions are denied.

Preliminarily, we note that our determination that this case is not related to the Gautreaux litigation within the meaning of Local Rule 2.31 continues the practice of Judge Crowley, who previously presided over this matter, and his predecessors in holding that a case involving alleged discrimination in connection with federally subsidized housing in the Chicago area is not automatically related to Gautreaux even if it does happen to present some isolated issues that might have a broad impact on or be controlled by issues involved in the Gautreaux cases. Otherwise, this Court would fast become the repository for every housing discrimination case in the Chicago area; a result that would not comport well with notions of sound judicial administration or policy. See Finger Enterprises v. Pierce, No. 82 C 1400, slip op. (N.D.Ill. March 9, 1982) (motion for finding of relatedness denied on similar grounds); Kogen v. City of Chicago, No. 82 C 2944, slip op. at 2 (N.D.Ill. May 24, 1982).

This case was filed as a plaintiff class action against American National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago, u/t/n 55100 and 55511 and Village Management, Inc. (“the private defendants”), the private owner and manager, respectively, of Ontario Place, an apartment building involved in the federal Section 8 subsidy programs, 42 U.S.C.A. § 1437f (West 1981 & West Supp. 1985) and federal mortgage insurance programs, 12 U.S.C. § 1715 (1982 & Supp. II 1984).2 Under these programs, the federal government subsidizes private owners of residential properties. Section 1715k of Title 12, United States Code, is a provision of the National Housing Act providing federal insurance for mortgages of certain residential housing projects. Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937, 42 U.S.C. § 1437f, provides federal housing assistance payments (“HAPS”) to private landlords as an incentive to provide much-needed housing for lower-income families. The two plaintiff classes represented by the named plaintiffs consist of:

(a) Class A. Class A is defined as all two-person black families consisting of one adult and one child who have applied or will apply or who have sought to apply or will seek to apply for housing subsidized pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1437f at the apartment building located at 10 E. Ontario, Chicago, Illinois (“Ontario Place”) and who have been or will be denied such housing based upon the Tenant Selection Policy described in ¶ 33, infra.
(b) Class B. Class B is defined as all children in all two person families who have applied or will apply or who have sought to apply or will seek to apply for housing subsidized pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1437f at Ontario Place, and who have been or will be denied such housing [78]*78based upon the tenant selection policy described in ¶ 33, infra.

Plaintiffs’ Complaint 114.

The Tenant Selection Criteria being challenged as discriminatory by plaintiffs was submitted by the private defendants to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), and on May 16, 1983, HUD sent a letter of approval to defendant Village Management, Inc. Among other things, the Criteria provide that “a parent and child will not occupy the same bedroom.” Ontario Place Tenant Selection Criteria at 2. This is consistent with a policy adopted by HUD. HUD Handbook 4350.3 CHG-1, Section 2-9(b)(4). Plaintiffs allege that the Tenant Selection Criteria adopted by the private defendants and approved by HUD act to discriminate against the plaintiff classes by limiting the availability of Section 8 housing. They allege that the policy discriminates against children in two person families, and that it has a disproportionate impact on black citizens. The complaint asserts violations of 42 U.S.C. § 2000d (1982) (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race to exclude or deny individuals’ participation in federally assisted programs), 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (1982) (providing for equal rights for all citizens in the making and enforcement of contracts and in receiving the full and equal benefit of the law) and 42 U.S.C. § 1982 (1982) (providing for equal rights for all citizens in the right to lease real property). Furthermore, the plaintiffs maintain that they are intended third-party beneficiaries of certain agreements between the private defendants and HUD in conjunction with the federal housing assistance programs.3 These agreements prohibit discrimination against families with children, against the class of children (“Class B”) and against individuals on the basis of race or age. Plaintiffs claim that the private defendants have breached these agreements and, as such, should be liable to third-party beneficiaries in the plaintiffs’ position.

The case which the private defendants in the present case wish to have their case consolidated with or transferred as related to is Gautreaux v. Pierce, Nos. 66 C 1459/1460. The Gautreaux litigation began in 1966 when the plaintiffs, representing approximately 43,000 black tenants of and applicants for public housing in the Chicago area, brought related actions against HUD and the Chicago Housing Authority (“CHA”) alleging that defendants had violated their rights under the Civil Rights Acts of 1870, 1871 and 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983 and 2000d (1982), and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment in that they instituted and promoted racially discriminatory policies and practices that resulted in low income housing being built in exclusively black neighborhoods in Chicago and in racial quotas that limited the number of black families in white housing projects. Both HUD and CHA were found liable to the plaintiffs for their respective roles in contributing to Chicago’s discriminatory housing patterns.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
109 F.R.D. 76, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mabry-v-village-management-inc-ilnd-1985.