Statement of Interest in Trujillo v. Amity Plaza LLC (D. Colo.)

On January 31, 2024, the court issued an order denying the defendant housing providers’ motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s Fair Housing Act (FHA) claims in Trujillo v. Amity Plaza LLC (D. Colo.).  The complaint in the case alleges that the plaintiff was sexually harassed and assaulted by a maintenance worker employed by her housing providers, Amity Plaza, LLC and the Housing Authority of the City of Littleton, Colorado.  On November 15, 2023, the United States filed a Statement of Interest, explaining the well-established principle that Section 3604(b) of the FHA prohibits post-acquisition sexual harassment and is not limited only to conduct during the process of acquiring or renting property, arguing that a state statute cannot immunize a public housing authority from a federal FHA claim, and addressing the proper standard for holding a defendant vicariously liable under the FHA.  In the court’s opinion, it agreed that Section 3604(b) can reach post-acquisition sexual harassment, that the housing authority was not immunized from federal FHA claims by a state statute, and that vicarious liability could apply to hold the housing providers liable for the harasser’s actions.