United States v. Schimnich (D. Minn.)

On February 8, 2016, the court entered a consent decree in United States v. Schimnich (D. Minn.), a Fair Housing Act election case.  The complaint, which was filed on November 15, 2013, alleges that the owner/manager of a three-unit residential rental property St. Cloud, Minnesota violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to rent an apartment to the HUD complainant because she used an assistance animal.  The consent decree requires the defendant to pay $2,000 to the HUD complainant, to adopt a reasonable accommodations policy and to obtain fair housing training. 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.