FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1995                          (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888
                                 

    JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES SUBURBAN DETROIT APARTMENT COMPLEX 
             FOR REFUSING TO RENT TO AFRICAN AMERICANS


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department today sued the
owners and former managers of a suburban Detroit apartment
complex for allegedly refusing to rent to African Americans.  The
case is part of a testing program that has now produced 30
enforcement actions in several regions, including eight in the
Detroit area.
     Under the program, trained pairs of black and white testers
with similar credentials posing as prospective tenants inquire
about available units.  By comparing the experiences of the
testers, investigators are able to determine whether minorities
are treated less favorably than whites.
     Today's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, 
accuses the 48-unit Marsten Apartments in Allen Park, situated at
19220 Wick Road, of engaging in a pattern of discrimination
against African Americans and families with children in violation
of the federal Fair Housing Act.  It alleged that the owners,
Marsten Apartments, Inc., Lorraine Labana and Harendra Gandhi,
and the former managers, Jerry Padgett and Lilian Padgett,
falsely informed African Americans that no apartments were
available, while at the same telling whites that there were
apartments available.  
     The complaint also alleged that the defendants tried to
restrict families with children to certain units in the complex,
a practice which has been unlawful since 1989.
     "To deny a person an apartment because of their race or
because they have children denies that person a share of the
American Dream," said Assistant Attorney General for Civil
Rights, Deval L. Patrick.  "We will vigorously prosecute
perpetrators of discrimination."
     Patrick noted that six of the eight Detroit area testing
cases have resulted in settlements totaling over $1 million,
including a record $425,000 settlement against Kings Pointe
Apartments in Warren, Michigan.  In June, the Justice Department
filed a similar lawsuit against another Allen Park complex, the
Park Woods Apartments.
     "We will continue to vigorously fight racial discrimination
in housing which too often goes unchallenged or undetected," said
United States Attorney Saul A. Green.  "Today's actions should
warn all housing providers in the Detroit area that housing
discrimination can and will be uncovered."
     Patrick and Green also praised the cooperation of the Fair
Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit, which assisted in the
testing at Park Woods.
     The complaint seeks an order preventing the complex from
engaging in further discriminatory practices and requiring the
defendants to pay damages to any individuals identified as
victims of the discrimination.  Under the Fair Housing Act, a
court may also require each defendant to pay a civil penalty up
to $50,000 for the first violation and $100,000 for a subsequent
violation.
     Individuals who believe that they may have been the victims
of housing discrimination at the Marsten Apartments should call
the U.S. Attorney's Office at 313-226-9792, the Housing Section
of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department at 
202-514-4713, or the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit at
313-963-1274.
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