United States v. Goss (M.D. Fla.)

On December 12, 2016, court entered a consent order in United States v. Goss (M.D. Fla.), a Fair Housing Act pattern or practice case based on testing done by the Division’s Fair Housing Testing Program. The complaint, which was filed on September 30, 2016, alleged that the defendants, the owner and managers of May Grove Village Mobile Home Park in Lakeland, Florida, violated the Fair Housing Act by, inter alia, falsely informing African Americans who inquired about purchasing a mobile home in the park that no or few units were available for sale, while contemporaneously showing and offering more available mobile homes to similarly-situated white persons.  The complaint also alleged that the defendants quoted prospective African American purchasers higher prices and worse financial terms than similarly situated white purchasers. The consent order requires the defendants to adopt a non-discrimination policy, attend training, and pay $35,000 in civil penalties.