Sixth Judicial Circuit
Fair Housing Council, Inc. v. Village of Olde St. Andrews, Inc.
250
F. Supp.2d 706 (W.D. Ky. 2003)
O-ACC
The Fair Housing Council, Inc. (FHC) and the Center for Accessible
Living, Inc. (CAL) sued an architect, a building company and a
homeowners' association, alleging that the defendants had violated
the Fair Housing Act in their construction of several residential
properties. The defendants moved for dismissal on the grounds that
the plaintiffs lacked standing, specifically arguing that FHC and
CAL had not suffered an "injury in fact." The defendants
also argued that since some of the properties had been sold more
than two years before the action was filed, the statute of limitations
barred any claims. FHC and CAL argued that they had been injured
in having to divert money from other projects in order to litigate
their claims. The court rejected this argument, but determined
that the plaintiffs had standing because of the expenses the organizations
incurred in conducting their pre-litigation investigation of the
defendants' potential violations, even though these investigations
were conducted in anticipation of litigation. The court also held
that, because the plaintiffs were alleging a continuing discriminatory
practice rather than a single violation, the statute of limitations
as to the entire housing development began to run only after the
sale of the last property, it being the most recent incident of
discriminatory behavior.
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