Georgia Realtors to pay $60,000 to settle housing discrimination lawsuit
A group of Georgia real estate agents has agreed to pay $60,000 as part of a settlement from a lawsuit alleging discrimination against families with children, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.
Harry Norman Realtors and Jennifer Sherrouse, a real estate agent in Atlanta, were accused of violating the Fair Housing Act when they advertised a “no-child policy” at one of the units in the Georgian Manor Condominiums, the justice department said.
They must pay $25,000 to the government and take fair-housing training, the justice department said.
Sherrouse no longer works for Harry Norman Realtors, according to an email the Atlanta-based agency sent to the AJC.
The suit stemmed from a complaint that Atlanta-based Metro Fair Housing Services filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is linked to other claims that the Georgian Manor Condominium Association has policies that discourage families who have children from living in the building, the justice department said.
These policies may have been in place for more than 20 years, the justice department said.
According to the DOJ, Harry Normal Realtors and Sherrouse “refused to show the unit” in the 3600 block of Peachtree Road to potential buyers who had children, the justice department said.
“Real estate agents have no excuse for violating our nation’s fair housing laws,” said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the justice department’s civil rights unit.
The settlement still must be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. If approved, the real estate agents must pay $5,000 to Metro Fair Housing Services and put $30,000 into a fund for people who suffered damages because of the no-child policy, the justice department said.
They also must pay $25,000 to the government in civil penalties.
As part of an earlier settlement with the same condominium, an owner of a unit at Georgian Manor has agreed to pay $7,500 to Metro Fair Housing and $2,500 to the government.
