Source: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/hce/documents/resurrectsettle.php
Timestamp: 2014-09-02 14:59:43
Document Index: 2842340

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 3601', '§ 804', '§ 3604', '§ 804', '§ 3604', '§ 804', '§ 3604', '§ 804', '§ 3604', '§ 3601', 'art 110', '§ 3614', '§ 3604']

United States v. Resurrection Retirement Community Inc. et al., Consent Order
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. CASE NO.
RESURRECTION RETIREMENT	COMMUNITY, INC.; and	RESURRECTION HEALTH	CARE, INC.,	Defendants.	CONSENT ORDER
The United States files this Consent Order simultaneously with its Complaint against Resurrection Retirement Community, Inc. and Resurrection Health Care, Inc. (collectively referred to as "Defendants") alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act, as amended by the
Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, 42 U.S.C.§§ 3601-3619 (the Act).
Defendant Resurrection Health Care, Inc. ("RHC") is the owner of Resurrection Retirement Community ("RRC"), which provides rental housing for persons 62 years of age and older which is located in Chicago, Illinois. RRC consists of approximately 500 apartment
units and extensive common use areas. The common use areas include among other things a dining area, a bank, laundry facilities, and several common area rooms used for recreational purposes. RRC provides both housing with no assisted living services and housing with assisted living services. Defendant Resurrection Retirement Community, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Defendant Resurrection Health Care, Inc. In October 2000, the United States Department of Justice began an investigation to determine if Defendants were complying with the Fair Housing Act. As part of its investigation, the Department of Justice sent testers to RRC seeking apartment units for persons with a disability. (1) Testers are persons who, without the intent to rent an apartment unit, seek
information about the availability of dwellings to determine whether a housing provider is engaged in discriminatory conduct in violation of the Act. In April 2001, the Department of Justice conducted a test in which two testers visited RRC. The first tester posed as someone searching for an apartment for her uncle who used a wheelchair. The second tester posed as someone searching for an apartment for her father-in-law who did not have a disability or use a wheelchair. The first tester met with the marketing
agent of RRC who asked the tester if her uncle was "healthy and independent?" The tester responded that her uncle was perfectly fine, independent, and used a wheelchair. The marketing agent then began to question the tester as to the nature and severity of her uncle's disability. The agent also claimed that the apartment units were not "wheelchair equipped." The agent then told the tester that she should consider an assisted living facility. Finally, the agent took the
tester to a nurse who worked at RRC. The nurse also asked questions about the nature and severity of the person's disability and stated that because he used a wheelchair "[e]verybody would probably come down on him. . . he doesn't need that kind of aggravation. . . it would not
be fair to him . . . he won't be comfortable in his own apartment." The nurse then suggested that the tester look at other "retirement homes" in the area for her uncle's own "convenience." Approximately two hours after the first tester left RRC, the second tester
visited the development and met with the same marketing agent. The marketing agent asked if the tester's father-in-law was healthy to which the tester responded that he was healthy. The agent did not ask the tester any other questions regarding the health or "independence" of the tester's father-in-law. In August 2001, the Department of Justice conducted another test. The first tester was sent to RRC posing as someone who was looking for an apartment for his father who used a wheelchair. The tester met with the same marketing agent who asked the tester if his father was
"independent? Able to maintain an apartment- take care of himself- all that good stuff?" The tester informed the marketing agent that he was independent and able to take care of himself. The tester later revealed that his father used a wheelchair. The agent responded by stating, "[o]h. He definitely cannot move in here in a wheelchair. What is he in a wheelchair for?" The Agent then made discouraging statements to the tester stating that the apartments at RRC are not "wheelchair equipped" and added, that anyone who had lived in Resurrection who used a wheelchair "extensively damaged" their unit. The Agent also stated that the dining area of
RRC was not wheelchair accessible. The United States did not observe any barriers to accessibility in the dining area during a site visit to RRC. The tester asked the agent and the director of RRC if a contractor could make modifications to make it accessible to his father. The
agent and director informed him that they were not "ruling it out," but that the tester's father would have to come in for an "assessment" before they would decide whether his father could
make accessibility modifications. A second and third tester subsequently visited RRC seeking an apartment for a relative who did not have a disability or use a wheelchair. The marketing agent did not ask these testers disability based questions, nor steer them to independent living
facilities. The testing and subsequent investigation conducted by the Department of Justice revealed, among other things, that Defendants treat applicants and tenants with disabilities differently in the terms and conditions of tenancy at RRC than other non-disabled applicants and tenants. Specifically, the investigation revealed that Defendants, through their agents, are:
Imposing as a term or condition of tenancy that applicants and tenants must be healthy and able to live independently;
Limiting the number of hours that tenants with a disability may receive assistive services which are necessary because of their disability in their apartment units, including services which are arranged and paid for by such tenants;
Inquiring to determine whether an applicant for an apartment unit at Resurrection has a disability and inquiring as to the nature and severity of such disability; Requiring selected applicants to submit to a medical assessment conducted by an employee of Defendants as a term or condition of tenancy;
Discouraging persons with a disability from renting apartment units at Resurrection because of their disability; and
Steering persons with a disability from RRC to assisted living facilities because of their disability.
Based on the investigation, policies and procedures implemented and enforced by the Defendants, as well as the statements and conduct of the Defendants, the United States alleges in its Complaint that the Defendants: (i) denied or otherwise made housing unavailable to a group
of persons because of disability in violation of § 804(f)(1) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(1); (ii) discriminated against persons with disabilities in the terms, conditions, or privileges of rental of housing, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection therewith, in violation of § 804(f)(2) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(2); (iii) have refused to make reasonable accommodations in their rules, policies, practices, or services
necessary to afford persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to use and enjoy housing in violation of § 804(f)(3)(B) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B); and (iv) made statements with respect to the rental of dwellings that indicate a preference, limitation, or
discrimination based on disability, in violation of § 804(c) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(c). The United States further alleges that this conduct constitutes a pattern or practice of discrimination in violation of the Act and a denial of rights under the Act, which raises an issue of general public importance.
The parties agree that this Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this case. The United States and Defendants desire to avoid costly and protracted litigation and have voluntarily agreed, as indicated by the signatures below, to resolve the United States' claims
against the Defendants without the necessity of trial. Therefore, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED as follows:
Defendants, their officers, employees, agents, successors and assigns and all other persons in active concert or participation with them are permanently enjoined from discriminating on the basis of disability as prohibited by the Fair Housing Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C.§§ 3601 et seq. Defendants, their officers, employees, agents, successors and assigns, shall, with respect to rental housing at RRC, refrain from the following:
Imposing as a term or condition of tenancy that applicants and tenants must be healthy and able to live independently of any assistive services which are necessary because of such applicant's or tenant's disability, including services which are arranged and paid for by such applicant or tenant;
Making statements and/or applying policies and practices indicating that persons cannot or should not live at RRC if they have difficulty walking and/or use a walker, wheelchair, motorized scooter or other assistive device for mobility;
Inquiring to determine whether an applicant for an apartment unit at RRC has a disability and inquiring as to the nature and severity of such disability, except in so far as such questions relate to whether the person's tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health and safety of other individuals or result in substantial physical damage to the property of others; (2) Requiring applicants to submit to a medical assessment conducted by an employee of Defendants as a term or condition of tenancy;
Discouraging persons with a disability from renting apartment units at RRC because of their disability; and
Within thirty (30) days of the date of entry of this Consent Order, Defendants, their officers, employees, agents, successors and assigns, shall adopt objective, non-discriminatory standards and procedures for marketing and showing rental housing units, processing rental
applications, establishing waiting lists for rental units, approving applicants for available dwelling units and/or positions on waiting lists, and tenant rules at RRC. These standards and procedures shall be applied to all applicants, prospective applicants, and tenants without regard
to disability. A copy of these standards and procedures shall be provided to counsel for the United States within thirty days after the date of entry of this Order. These standards and procedures shall be implemented within fifteen days after their receipt by the United States,
unless the United States objects to the proposed standards and procedures in writing within those fifteen days. In that event, the standards and procedures shall not be implemented until the parties have resolved the dispute or, in the event they are unable to resolve it, the Court has resolved it. Upon their implementation, Defendants and their rental agents and employees shall adhere to these written policies and procedures.
A summary of these standards and procedures shall be posted in the rental office at RRC and in any office where there is rental activity and/or personal contact with applicants for, or tenants of, rental units. A copy of the summary of these standards and procedures shall be
provided upon request to current tenants and to any applicant for a rental unit at RRC. This summary shall include the telephone number of RRC's headquarters office and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (1-800-765-9372) in the event an individual has a complaint. For the duration of this Order, these rental standards and procedures may be modified only upon thirty days prior written notice to counsel for the United States. In the event that the United States objects to the proposed change in writing within twenty days of receipt of notice, the change shall not be implemented until the
parties have resolved their dispute or, in the event they are unable to resolve it, the Court has resolved it.
III. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF DEFENDANTS' NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
Defendants shall post and prominently display in the rental office of RRC and all other RHC housing facilities, a sign no smaller than ten (10) by fourteen (14) inches indicating that all dwellings are available for rent on a nondiscriminatory basis. A poster that comports with 24 C.F.R. Part 110 will satisfy this requirement.
For the duration of this Consent Order, in all future advertising in newspapers, and on pamphlets, brochures and other promotional literature regarding RRC, Defendants shall place, in
a conspicuous location, a statement that the dwelling units include features for persons with disabilities required by the federal Fair Housing Act. During the period that this Consent Order
is in effect, all of RRC's advertising, pamphlets, brochures, web site, and other promotional literature which display human models shall include at least one model using a manual or motorized wheelchair. IV. EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Within thirty (30) days after the date of entry of this Consent Order, RRC, as well as all agents or employees of RRC with responsibility for showing or renting apartment units or managing any other aspect of RRC, shall complete an educational program, to be conducted by
the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities at the Defendants' expense, that shall include the following:
Providing a copy of the federal Fair Housing Act to each agent or employee whose duties include showing, renting or managing dwelling
units, and each agent or employee who supervises such activities;
Instructing each individual on procedures to insure that disability does not enter into the process of providing rental information to persons who make inquiry or making decisions on rental applications;
Securing the signed statement attached as Exhibit "A," which is incorporated herein by reference, from each such agent or employee indicating that he or she has received and read a summary of this Consent Order ("Summary of Consent Order"), which shall be drafted by RRC and approved by the United States, and understands the terms set forth in the Summary of the Consent Order, the Defendants' policy of nondiscrimination, and that any violation of this Consent Order may result in sanctions against the Defendants by the Court; and
During the period in which this Consent Order is in effect, each new employee or agent of RRC with responsibility for showing or renting apartment units or managing any other aspect of RRC, who is hired following the completion of the training described in paragraph 7,
shall complete an educational program conducted by RRC which shall include each of the elements listed in paragraph 7, and sign the statement which is attached as Exhibit "A" within ten (10) days after the date on which he or she commences an employment or agency relationship with RRC.
With respect to the rental of apartment units at RRC, Defendants shall ensure that each of the following are maintained:
An Inquiry Register on a daily basis of all persons who inquire about renting an apartment unit. The Register shall contain space for each person to record the following information: the date of inquiry, the person's name, current address, telephone number, whether the applicant uses a wheelchair, scooter, or other type of assistive device for mobility, and person's signature. The top portion of the Register shall contain the following disclaimer: "The following information is requested to assist RRC in complying with the federal Fair Housing Act and will be kept confidential. Indicating that you use a wheelchair, scooter, or other assistive device for mobility is voluntary, and this information is not required in order to rent an apartment."
A Rental Application Log on a daily basis that sets forth the name of the applicant and whether the applicant uses an assistive device (based on the employee's or agent's good faith observation), whether the application for tenancy was approved, rejected or placed on a wait list, the unit number occupied for all approved applicants, and a detailed explanation for all rejected applications.
Within sixty (60) days of the date of entry of this Consent Order, the Defendants shall deliver to counsel for the United States(3) the following documents:
Copies of all written verifications of training required under Section IV of this Order;
A report listing the dwelling units in RRC which are occupied by a person who uses an assistive device for mobility, as of the date of entry of this Order; and
A photograph showing the fair housing signs required by Section III of this Order.
Within six (6) months of the date of entry of this Consent Order, and every six (6) months thereafter for the period in which the Order is in effect, the Defendants shall deliver to counsel for the United States a report covering the preceding six (6) months containing the
Copies of all mandatory education acknowledgments signed by
Defendants' agents and employees pursuant to Section IV of this Order;
Copies of all certifications of attendance of the Defendants, their agents and employees in such educational program, pursuant to Section IV of this Order;
Copies of the Inquiry Registers and Rental Application Logs maintained pursuant to Section V of this Order; and
A list setting forth the occupancy of each dwelling unit in RRC which is occupied by a person who uses an assistive device for mobility, as of the close of the reporting period.
During the period in which this Consent Order is in effect, the Defendants shall preserve all records that are the source of, contain, or relate to any of the information pertinent to the obligations under this Order, including all intake forms and internal RRC notes about
potential rental applicants, rental applications, leases, and other reports relating to apartment units at RRC. Upon reasonable notice to counsel for the Defendants, representatives of the United States shall be permitted to inspect and copy all such records at any and all reasonable
During the period in which this Consent Order is in effect, the Defendants shall notify counsel for the United States in writing within fifteen (15) days of receipt of any written or oral complaint against RRC or the Defendants' agents or employees, regarding equal opportunity or discrimination in housing. If the complaint is written, the Defendants shall provide a copy of it with the notification; if the complaint is oral, the Defendants shall include a written summary of it with the notification. The notification shall include the full details of the
complaint, including the complainant's name, address, and telephone number. The Defendants shall also promptly provide the United States all information it may request concerning any such complaint and its actual or attempted resolution.
The United States may take steps to monitor the Defendants' compliance with this Consent Order including, but not limited to, conducting fair housing tests at RRC to determine if the Defendants are violating any part of this Decree.
The Defendants shall enter into a contract with a fair housing entity approved by the United States, for a program of compliance testing designed both to monitor compliance with this Decree and to detect and deter future acts of unlawful discrimination at Resurrection. The
Defendants shall impose as a condition of this contract that the testing shall occur no less than six (6) times per year for the duration of this Decree and that the testing entity shall provide copies of the test results to counsel for the United States within fourteen days of the conclusion of any series of tests. Defendants shall pay all expenses associated with this testing. The United States may use the test results for any lawful purpose, including the initiation of further judicial proceedings.
Within ten (10) business days after entry of this Order, Defendants shall deposit the sum of TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($200,000.00) into an interest-bearing account for the purpose of compensating any aggrieved persons who may have been the victims
of discriminatory housing practices committed by the defendants at RRC, and who may be identified through the procedures set forth in this Section.
Within 45 days of the entry of this Consent Order, Defendants shall publish a Notice to Potential Victims of Housing Discrimination ("Notice"), which is attached hereto as Exhibit
"B" and incorporated herein by reference, informing readers of the possibility of obtaining relief. The Notice shall be no smaller than three columns by six inches and shall be published on three occasions in both The Chicago Tribune hard copy and internet editions. The three publication dates shall be separated from one another by at least 21 days, with at least one of the publication dates on a Sunday, and shall not be published on a Saturday or a holiday. Within 10 days of each publication date, Defendants shall provide the newspaper containing the Notice to counsel for the United States.
Within 30 days of the entry of this Consent Order, Defendants shall send by first-class mail, a copy of the Notice to each person of whom RRC is aware or has a record of their applying or inquiring about applying to live at Resurrection between June 1, 1997 and June 1,
2002, but who did not become a tenant there.(4) Within 45 days of entry of this Order, Defendants shall provide to counsel for the United States proof that the Notice has been sent.
Defendants shall produce or permit representatives of the United States to review any records of RRC in the possession or control of any of the Defendants, their agents or employees, which the United States believes to be useful in identifying persons who may be entitled to relief under this Order. Upon reasonable notice, the Defendants shall provide such records or shall permit representatives of the United States to make such an inspection on any business day as early as the day after entry of this Order.
Nothing in this section shall preclude the United States from making its own efforts to locate and provide notice to potential aggrieved persons. Within two-hundred and forty (240) days from the date of the entry of this Consent Order, the United States shall determine which persons are likely to have been victims of the discriminatory housing practices at RRC, and shall determine in its sole discretion an appropriate amount of damages to be awarded to each such person from the sum submitted by the Defendants pursuant to paragraph A of this Section, provided that no person shall be paid pursuant to this Section until after execution of a written release of all claims, legal or equitable, that he or she might have against the Defendants relating to the claims asserted in this lawsuit, similar to the release which is attached hereto and identified as Exhibit "C." The United States shall notify the Defendants in writing of its determinations. Within thirty (30) days after receiving this written notification, the Defendants shall deliver to counsel for the United States checks to the aggrieved persons payable as directed in the written
notification. Counsel for the United States shall not forward an aggrieved person's check to that person until the United States has received that person's executed release of claims.
In the event that the United States distributes less than the total amount of compensation for aggrieved persons specified in paragraph A of this Section, the remainder shall be paid to an organization(s) engaging in fair housing activities that assist persons with
disabilities, such organization to be approved by the United States.
Within thirty (30) days after the entry of this Consent Order, the Defendants shall pay TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($20,000) as a civil penalty to the United States pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 3614(d)(1)(C).
The payments described in paragraph A of this Section shall be delivered to counsel for the United States in the form of a cashier's check payable to the "United States Department of Justice."
The United States' Complaint shall be dismissed with prejudice, except that the United States may petition the Court, at any time during the duration of this Decree, to reopen the case for the purpose of enforcing the Decree, and this Court shall retain jurisdiction to
enforce this Decree. The parties to this Consent Decree shall endeavor in good faith to resolve informally any differences regarding interpretation of and compliance with this Decree prior to bringing such matters to the Court for resolution. X. TIME FOR PERFORMANCE
So ORDERED this _____ day of_______________ , 2002.
JOAN A. MAGAGNA	Chief	TIMOTHY J. MORAN
Deputy Chief	SCOTT P. MOORE
Trial Attorneys	United States Department of Justice
PATRICK J. FITZGERALD	United States Attorney	JOAN LASER	Assistant U.S. Attorney Northern District of Illinois	219 South Dearborn Street	Fifth Floor	Chicago, IL 60604	(312) 353-1857	For the Defendants:	DANIEL KUZNETSKY
c/o Holy Family Medical Center
(847) 297-1800, extension 1143
(773) 792-9961
On _______________, 2002, I was instructed by _______________________ with respect to my
responsibilities under the Consent Order entered by the federal district court in United States v.
Resurrection Retirement Community, Inc., et al., [Case Number] (N.D.Ill.), and the federal Fair Housing Act. I also was instructed as to Resurrection Retirement Community's rental policies and procedures. I have received and read the Summary Consent Order and the federal Fair
Housing Act. I understand my legal responsibilities and will comply with those responsibilities. I further understand that the Court may impose sanctions on me if I violate a provision of this Order and that my employer may also discipline me if I violate a provision of this Order. I have been informed by my employer that I will not be reprimanded by my employer for providing information to any law enforcement agency (including the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20530, telephone 202-514-4713) or official regarding my employer's compliance with the Fair Housing Act and/or the Consent Order.
On _____________________, 2002, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a consent order resolving a lawsuit brought by the United States Department of Justice against the owners and managers of Resurrection Retirement Community alleging that they discriminated against persons with disabilities in violation the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604. In that lawsuit, the Department of Justice alleges, among other things, that the owners and agents of Resurrection Retirement Community denied housing to or otherwise discouraged persons with disabilities from living at Resurrection.
Under this consent order, you may be entitled to receive monetary relief if you or anyone you know was denied housing or otherwise discouraged from living at Resurrection Retirement Community because they use a wheelchair or scooter.
Attn: 175-23-709
EXHIBIT "C" RELEASE
In consideration for the parties' agreement to the terms of the Consent Order entered in United States v. Resurrection Retirement Community, Inc., et al. [Case Number] (N.D. Ill.), and
the Defendants' payment to me [and my spouse jointly] of $_____________ , I hereby release and forever discharge all claims related to the facts at issue in the litigation referenced above, or in any way related to that litigation, and any other claims arising from alleged housing discrimination up to and including the date of execution of this release, that I may have against any of the Defendants, all related entities, parents, predecessors, successors, subsidiaries and affiliates, and all of their past and present directors, officers, agents, managers, supervisors, shareholders and employees and their heirs, executors, administrators, successors or assigns.
Executed this ____ day of _____________, 200__.
1. Although the Fair Housing Act refers to the protected class as persons with "handicaps,"
the term "disabilities" is synonymous and generally preferred. See Helen L. v. DiDario, 46
F.3d 325, 330 n.8 (3d Cir. 1995) (noting change in language of Rehabilitation Act to reflect "Congress' awareness that individuals with disabilities find the term 'handicapped' objectionable "). Therefore, the term " disability " will be used herein.
2. In addition, Defendants are not precluded from inquiring into an applicant's ability to meet
the legitimate requirements of ownership or tenancy, provided that they make these inquiries of all applicants, whether or not they have disabilities.
3. All documents or other communications required by this Order to be sent to counsel for the
United States shall be addressed as follows: Chief, Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, Civil Rights Division, DJ 175-23-709, United States Department of Justice- G St., 950 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20530, or as otherwise directed by the United States.
4. The group of persons to whom the Notice shall be sent also includes those persons who
are currently on any waiting list for tenancy that Defendants maintain.