U.S. Department
of Justice
United States v. DeRaffele (D. Mass.)
On October 27, 2017, the jury returned a verdict of $43,500 in favor of the United States in United States v. DeRaffele (D. Mass.), a pattern or practice/election Fair Housing Act case. The complaint, which was filed on May 31, 2016 and amended on October 24, 2016, alleged that the owner of a four-unit rental property in Springfield, Massachusetts violated the Fair Housing Act when he refused to rent an apartment to the HUD complainants because they had children under six years old and the units had no lead certificate. The jury found that the defendant made an apartment unavailable to the HUD complainants based in substantial part on their familial status. The jury also found that the defendant retaliated against them by filing a lawsuit against them after they filed their HUD complaint. The jury awarded the HUD complainants $8,500. The jury also found that the United States had proven a pattern or practice of discrimination and stated that the defendant should pay $35,000 to the United States as a civil penalty. The case was referred to the Division after the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received a complaint, conducted an investigation and issued a charge of discrimination.
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