U.S. Department
of Justice
Housing and Civil Enforcement Cases
Village of Atlantic Beach, New York
On October 21, 2026, the United States entered into a settlement agreement with the Village of Atlantic Beach, New York, to resolve allegations that it violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) by enacting and enforcing zoning provisions that treat religious land uses worse than comparable secular uses. The settlement agreement resolves claims that a Village zoning ordinance, which required that religious or educational places of assembly, but not nonreligious places of assembly, obtain a special exception permit from the Village’s Board of Appeals, violated RLUIPA’s equal terms provision. The settlement agreement follows resolution of a private lawsuit brought by an Orthodox Jewish organization, Chabad of the Beaches, which asserted that the Village’s denial of its application to use a vacant commercial property for a religious facility violated RLUIPA. Under the settlement agreement with the United States, the Village agreed to revise its zoning ordinance to remove the special exception requirement for places of worship and instead permit religious uses as of right in the Village’s Residential (A) district. The settlement agreement also requires, among other relief, that the Village train its officials and employees on RLUIPA’s requirements and establish a procedure for receiving and resolving RLUIPA complaints.
Village Capital & Investment LLC
On October 19, 2026, the United States entered into a settlement agreement resolving allegations that Village Capital & Investment, LLC, a servicer of VA-guaranteed home loans, violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”), 50 U.S.C. §§ 3901-4043, by failing and refusing to lower interest rates on at least 41 servicemembers’ mortgages in accordance with 50 U.S.C. § 3937 and by retaliating against servicemembers who requested SCRA benefits, in violation of 50 U.S.C. § 3919. The settlement agreement requires Village Capital to pay at least $425,000 to compensate aggrieved servicemembers and their co-borrowers and a $79,380 civil penalty. The settlement agreement also requires Village Capital to make changes to its SCRA policies and conduct employee training.
Press Release - 10/19/2026
Complaint - United States v Stagg Group (S. D. NY)
On September 25, 2026, the United States Attorney’s Office filed a Fair Housing Act pattern or practice complaint in United States v. Stagg Group (S.D.N.Y.). The complaint alleges that Stagg Group violated the Fair Housing Act by failing to design and construct at least six residential properties in New York with the required accessibility features, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(C). This complaint is based on evidence obtained by the Department of Justice’s Fair Housing Testing Program.
United States v Alfred Falgiani (N.D. Ohio)
On August 24, 2026, the United States filed a complaint in United States v. Falgiani (N.D. OH) alleging that Alfred Falgiani, a landlord in and around Girard, Ohio, violated the Fair Housing Act by engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on sex. Specifically, the complaint alleged that Falgiani sexually harassed female tenants since at least 2008 with, among other things, unwelcome sexual comments, unwelcome and inappropriate touching, quid pro quo demands for sex in exchange for housing benefits, and retaliatory evictions when women have refused his requests.
Vetrano
On August 14, 2026, the United States Attorney’s Office entered into a settlement resolving allegations that Lisa Hincman, Michael Vetrano, and LCM Realty Management, LLC, who owned and managed a residential rental property in Peabody, Massachusetts, violated the Fair Housing Act when they refused to rent the property to a woman with a minor child because of her familial status. Under the settlement agreement, Hincman, Vetrano, and LCM will pay $30,000 to compensate the family. The settlement agreement also requires them to implement a fair housing policy for their rental properties and to receive fair housing training. The case was referred to the Division after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received a complaint, conducted an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination.
United States v. Mani (M.D. Pa.)
On August 5, 2026, the United States Attorney’s Office filed a complaint in United States v. Mani (M.D. Pa.), alleging that Venkatachalam Mani, a landlord in State College, Pennsylvania, sexually harassed a female tenant and then retaliated against her after she rejected his advances by failing to fix her furnace despite freezing temperatures, forcing her and her four minor children to move into a hotel. The case was referred to the Division after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received a complaint, conducted an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination.
Holmes Motors Inc
On July 30, 2026, the United States entered into a settlement resolving allegations that Holmes Motors, Inc., a “lease here, pay here” auto dealership with locations in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by illegally repossessing three vehicles owned by servicemembers and failing to refund security deposits and prepaid lease amounts to servicemembers who terminated five vehicle leases after receiving qualifying military orders. Under the settlement, Holmes Motors will pay $77,348 to compensate the servicemembers and a $60,000 civil penalty to the United States. The settlement also requires Holmes to revise its policies, procedures, and training materials to prevent future SCRA violations.
Press Release - 7/30/2026
Masjid Sadar Inc & Shameer Properties LLC v Borough of Sayreville et al (D.N.J.
On July 13, 2026, the United States filed a Statement of Interest in Masjid Sadar, Inc. & Shameer Properties, LLC v. Borough of Sayreville, New Jersey, et al. (D.N.J.), regarding RLUIPA’s Equal Terms provision. Plaintiffs are seeking to build a mosque in the Borough of Sayreville for its growing Muslim community. The complaint and motion for a preliminary injunction allege, among other claims, that Sayreville’s Zoning Code violates the Equal Terms provision, which prohibits zoning regulations that treat religious and nonreligious land uses unequally, without a regulatory justification. In its Statement of Interest, the United States argues that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their Equal Terms claim, because the Borough’s Zoning Code violates the Equal Terms provision on its face, for two reasons. First, the Code requires houses of worship to obtain discretionary conditional use permits, while secular assemblies are permitted as of right. Second, the Zoning Code subjects houses of worship to more stringent dimensional requirements than nonreligious assembly uses, without a reason for doing so.
Flinn & United States v City of Evanston (N.D. Ill.)
On October 16, 2026, the United States filed a complaint in intervention in Flinn & United States v. City of Evanston (N.D. Ill.), a lawsuit challenging a reparations program by the City of Evanston, Illinois, that provides cash payments and financial assistance for housing solely to black persons and their descendants and not to similarly situated persons of other races. The United States’ complaint in intervention alleges that the city’s actions violate the Equal Protection Cause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Fair Housing Act.
Press Release - 6/16/2026
United States v New Mexico Supreme Court and New Mexico Board of Bar Examiners (D. NM.)
On June 11, 2026, the United States filed a complaint in United States v. New Mexico Supreme Court and New Mexico Board of Bar Examiners (D. N.M.) alleging that the New Mexico Supreme Court and the New Mexico Board of Bar Examiners have refused to recognize the out-of-state law licenses of qualifying military spouses and servicemembers as valid in accordance with the licensing portability provision in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), 50 U.S.C. § 4025a.
Doe v. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Worcester Inc. d/b/a Crozier House et al (D. Mass.)
On June 2, 2026, the United States filed a statement of interest in Doe v. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Worcester, Inc. d/b/a Crozier House, et al. (D. Mass.), a private lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of the Fair Housing Act, among other claims. Some of the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the Fair Housing Act claim. The United States’ statement of interest clarifies the legal standards for sexual harassment and retaliation claims under the Fair Housing Act, including that: (1) in some circumstances, individuals who knew or should have known about a discriminatory housing practice and failed to take action to stop it can be held directly liable, (2) retaliating against someone for exercising or enjoying their fair housing rights can violate Section 3617, and (3) constructive eviction is not required to plead a Section 3604(a) claim.
Vehicle Management Solutions Inc.
On May 28, 2026, the United States reached a settlement resolving allegations that Vehicle Management Solutions, Inc. (VMS), a towing company based in San Antonio, Texas, violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by selling, auctioning or otherwise disposing of approximately 93 vehicles owned by SCRA-protected servicemembers without court orders. Under the settlement, VMS will pay $220,000 to compensate the servicemembers and a $60,000 civil penalty to the United States. The settlement also requires VMS to revise its policies, procedures, and training materials to prevent future SCRA violations.