U.S. Department
of Justice
United States v. Klosterman (S.D. Ohio)
On October 1, 2020, the court entered a consent decree in United States v. Klosterman (S.D. Ohio), the terms of which include $175,000 in monetary damages for 20 aggrieved women, a $2,500 civil penalty, and comprehensive injunctive relief. The consent decree resolved the United States’ claims under the Fair Housing Act that John Klosterman subjected his female tenants to severe, pervasive, and unwelcome sexual harassment and unlawful retaliation. On May 24, 2022, the court entered an order finding that John Klosterman had violated a contempt order that had been entered against him in this case for failure to abide by the terms of the consent decree, and imposed $3,000 in sanctions and additional prospective sanctions for continued violations. The complaint was filed on March 21, 2018 and alleges that the defendants, who own and manage rental properties in Cincinnati, Ohio, violated the Fair Housing Act by engaging in a pattern or practice of sexual harassment against female tenants and coercing, intimidating, threatening, or interfering with tenants in the exercise of their fair housing rights.
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