Mississippi Mobile Home Park Owner To Cough Up $50K To Settle Race-Based Discrimination Fair Housing Lawsuit

From the U.S. Department of Justice:

• The Justice Department [] announced that Mississippi property owner Indigo Investments LLC, has agreed to pay $50,000 in monetary damages and civil penalties to settle the government’s Fair Housing Act lawsuit. The government alleged that Indigo and its former employees, Barbara A. Hamilton and Edward L. Hamilton, discriminated against African-American residents and members of interracial households at Homestead Mobile Home Village in Gulfport, Miss., which Indigo formerly owned and the Hamiltons formerly managed.

• The lawsuit originated as a result of a complaint filed with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by an African-American couple who moved to the mobile home park after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina. After investigating the complaint, HUD issued a charge of discrimination, and the case was referred to the Justice Department, which filed the lawsuit in June 2009.

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• "Losing one’s home to any disaster is disruptive enough without facing housing discrimination when trying to find a new home to restart your life," said John Trasviña, Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "HUD and the Department of Justice continue our joint enforcement actions to eliminate illegal housing discrimination in all forms."

• Under the settlement, which was approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Indigo Investments LLC, will pay $45,000 to 12 individuals and $5,000 to the United States as a civil penalty.

For the DOJ press release, see Justice Department Settles Housing Discrimination Lawsuit Against Mississippi Mobile Home Park Owner and Managers.