Feds sue Sterling for bias
Kevin Roderick • Bio • Email

SterlingWe've all seen Clippers owner Donald Sterling's ads for his high-rise apartment buildings along the Wilshire corridor and in Koreatown. Well, the U.S. Justice Department filed a discrimination suit Monday that accuses Sterling of favoring Koreans and trying to keep out African American renters and families with children. From today's Los Angeles Times:

The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, charged Sterling with violating the Fair Housing Act, a part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, by engaging in "discrimination on the basis of race, national origin and familial status." It also named Sterling's wife, Rochelle, and three Sterling companies and trusts.

Sterling owns about 100 apartment buildings with thousands of rental units in the county. In a prepared statement, Sterling's lawyer, Greg Garbacz, called the charges baseless...Sterling and his companies "are committed to equal housing opportunities for all," Garbacz said, and have "tenants of all races, religions, national origins, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, as well as families."

In the seven-page complaint, Justice Department lawyers said Sterling's agents at various times have refused to rent to non-Koreans at their buildings in Koreatown, and have been guilty of "creating, maintaining, and perpetuating an environment that is hostile" to existing non-Korean tenants. According to the lawsuit, the Sterling companies also have refused to rent to African Americans at properties in Beverly Hills, and have misrepresented the availability of units to blacks and families with children.

Prosecutors are seeking a court order that would bar future acts of discrimination, along with monetary damages for alleged victims, none of whom was identified.

"Here in Los Angeles, where housing is already at a premium, it is imperative that no one be denied housing simply because of their skin color, ethnic background or because they have children," said Debra Wong Yang, U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.

Last year a jury rejected claims by a former apartment supervisor, Sumner Davenport, that Sterling had fired her for refusing his sexual advances.

August 8, 2006 8:37 AM • Native Intelligence • Email the editor
 

© 2003-2014   •  About LA Observed  •  Contact the editor
LA Observed main blog
8:31 PM Thu | Lakers acquire Steve Nash from the Suns
8:08 PM Thu | Journo jumps from Daily Journal to Warren Olney
11:50 PM Wed | Protester who smacked LAPD cop sentenced to jail
11:31 PM Wed | Michael J. Ybarra, journalist was 45
10:21 AM Tue | Andy Griffith, actor was 86
LA Biz Observed
Mark Lacter funeral services
2:07 PM Sat | The funeral for Mark Lacter will be held Sunday, Nov. 24 at 12 noon at Hillside Memorial Park, 6001 W. Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles 90045. Reception to follow.
Business Guides for Companies – Effective business articles that will improve your business.
Jenny Burman
Thursday Diary, missing LA
Before I lived in Echo Park, there was a tiny 1920s bungalow-cottage-standalone house on N. Occidental in Silver Lake. I...
Here in Malibu
Indecisive
I don't know why it's taking me so long to choose the new platform for this blog. Well, that's not...
Politics at LA Observed
SB 50: It will be a fight to remember
The Philosopher Mayor
USC's Crosstown: Saving L.A. by the numbers
Supervisor Barger worries about the homeless
Galperin's numbers fall short of telling homeless story
All posts in Politics
Media at LA Observed
Can Spectrum News 1 capture diverse L.A?
My Herald Examiner days
Goodbye, Downtown L.A.: One heck of a ride comes to an end
Jury speaks loudly in Simers v. The Los Angeles Times
A top LA Times editor says task is "daunting"
Media people • LA Times • Magazines