FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1997                        (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888
                                 
   JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES NURSING HOME FOR ALLEGEDLY REFUSING
                   TO RENT TO AFRICAN-AMERICANS

  Today's Suit is the Government's First Housing Case Alleging 
              Race Discrimination at a Nursing Home

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- An Akron, Ohio nursing home which
allegedly refused to rent to African-Americans was sued today by
the Justice Department for violating the Federal Fair Housing Act.

     The complaint, filed today in U.S. District Court in
Cleveland, charges the managers, operators, and some staff of the
Lorantffy Care Center in Akron of engaging in an unlawful pattern
of discrimination against African-Americans.  According to the
suit, which is the first of its kind involving a nursing home,
Lorantffy representatives falsely informed black prospective
residents that rooms were not available when in fact they were.

     "No American should ever be denied housing due to the color of
his or her skin," said Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil
Rights Isabelle Katz Pinzler. "All potential residents of nursing
homes should be treated fairly and given correct information about
housing availability."

     Today's suit stems from the Department's national fair housing
testing program, which already has produced 34 suits in 11 states,
resulting in four million dollars in damages and civil penalties.
Under this program, trained pairs of African-American and white
testers help detect discrimination by posing as prospective tenants
inquiring about the availability of rental units. 
 
     The results of the tests are reviewed by the Department to
determine if there has been different treatment of the testers
based on their race.  Currently, the Justice Department is
conducting testing in about a dozen cities. 

     As part of the Department's investigation, pairs of African-
American and white testers assumed the role of relatives seeking
information about nursing home room availability on behalf of
elderly family members.  The investigation found that white testers
were told of available rooms while black testers were not.   

     "The decision to place your elderly relative in a nursing home
should not be made even more difficult knowing that you may face
racial discrimination," said Emily M. Sweeney, U.S. Attorney for
the Northern District of Ohio.  "Ensuring that nursing homes
operate without racial bias protects both senior citizens and their
families." 

     Today's complaint seeks an order preventing the Lorantffy Care
Center, its management, and certain employees from engaging in
further discrimination.  It also seeks to require the defendants to
pay damages to any individuals identified as victims of discrimina-
tion and civil penalties.  Under federal law, a court may require
each defendant to pay a civil penalty of up to $50,000 for the
first violation and $100,000 for subsequent violations.

     The Lorantffy Care Center has approximately 100 beds and is
located at 2631 Copley Road in Akron.  The complaint names former
administrator Tibor Domotor, Executive Director Elizabeth Domotor,
Administrator Elizabeth Schmidt, social worker Betty Vargo, and the
Lorantffy Care Center as defendants.

     Individuals who believe they may have been the victims of
housing discrimination at the Lorantffy Care Center should contact
Annette Butler at the U.S. Attorney's office in Cleveland at (216)
622-3718 or the Housing Section of the Civil Rights Division of the
Justice Department at (202) 514-4713.
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97-054