Donald Sterling Accused Of Violating Fair Housing Act

Sterling Faces Housing Discrimination Suit

The U.S. Justice Department has filed a discrimination suit in U.S. District Court in L.A. against Clippers Owner and real estate mogul DONALD STERLING, accusing him of violating the Fair Housing Act by “favoring Korean tenants while seeking to exclude African Americans and families with children from his apartment buildings” in L.A. County, according to Myron Levin of the L.A. TIMES. Sterling’s wife, ROCHELLE, is also named, along with three Sterling companies and trusts. The Sterlings’ lawyer, GREG GARBACZ, said that the Sterling Corp. for the last year “had engaged in ‘open dialogue’ with the U.S. Department of Justice, which at no time identified ‘any evidence, document or witness supporting its allegations’” (L.A. TIMES, 8/8). Sterling last year settled an ’03 suit filed by the nonprofit Housing Rights Center “claiming six plaintiffs, including former employees and tenants, were fired or mistreated because they weren’t Korean.” A court filing called the settlement “one of the largest ever obtained in this type of case” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 8/7).