The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has filed a petition with the United States Supreme Court in a Fair Housing Accessibility case concerning multifamily residences. The issues raised include questions on the Act’s statue of limitations concerning violations, and the ability of interest groups receiving HUD enforcement grants to have legal standing to sue.
NAHB’s legal department says that petitions that are accompanied by amicus (friend of the court) briefs tend to have a better chance of being chosen to be argued before the Supreme Court, and that having a large number of briefs from amici supporting the petition improves the odds of having the Court agree to hear the case. NAHB invites concerned multifamily businesses to consider filing an amicus brief concerning this case.
The facts giving rise to the petition are as follows:
One of NAHB’s members, WKB Associates, in the Louisville, Ky., area, was sued by a local fair housing interest group alleging that several of the developer’s multifamily projects did not comply with the Fair Housing Act’s requirements for design and construction. The group had received HUD enforcement grants and hired testers to identify potential violations.
Last year, the Sixth Circuit found in favor of the enforcer group, ruling that it had standing to sue. The Court also issued a liberal interpretation of the law’s statue of limitations, holding that as long as one unit in a development is sold within the appropriate time period, then the lawsuit could target all units—no matter how long ago they were sold before the suit was filed. Other Circuits have rendered decisions on similar cases that are not compatible with this one, creating a situation which only a Supreme Court decision can resolve.
An additional case concerning multifamily developments in Nevada and Idaho addressed the statue of limitations on Fair Housing violations, and was just decided in the developer’s favor in a different circuit. Information on that decision will be added to NAHB’s petition (see Garcia v. Brockway et al, (4th Cir. No. 06-15042, 2007).
All amicus briefs must be filed before the 30-day window for such actions closes. For more information about the case, e-mail tward@nahb.com or call Tom Ward at 800-368-5242 x8230.
Source: NAHB