FAIR HOUSING OF MARIN AWARDED DAMAGES IN RACE CASE

Contact: Nancy Kenyon, Executive Director, 415-457-5025; Kim Zeldin, Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro, LLP, 415/983-1533; D. Scott Chang, Solo Practioner, 650/947-9906

(April 10, 2000) - On March 29, Judge Martin J. Jenkins, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order entering default judgment and awarding compensatory and punitive damages totaling $98,777 to Fair Housing of Marin (FHOM) in a lawsuit filed in 1997. The case involved discrimination against African-Americans by Jack Combs, the owner of Water's Edge, 520 Canal Street, San Rafael. Steven Saxe, head of FHOM's Legal Committee, stated: ÒWe shouldn't need the law or the courts to assure equal housing opportunities for everyone. Just knowing that this is the right thing to do ought to be enough. However, for those who need an economic incentive, this case will serve as a reminder that discrimination is against the law and the consequences for breaking our Fair Housing Laws can be expensive."

Fair Housing of Marin began investigating alleged racial discrimination at the complex in 1994 after receiving complaints from both African-American and Caucasian residents of the complex. In response, the agency conducted two paired tests, using African-American and Caucasian testers trained by the agency. In the first test, Jack Combs told the Caucasian tester that Waters Edge was an all-white building, that he no longer rented to Blacks and that the tester would "fit in quite nicely". The African-American tester was treated politely but not similarly encouraged to apply. In the second test, Mr. Combs again treated the African-American tester politely but did not encourage her application. The same day, he showed the same apartment to the Caucasian tester and told her that if she took possession immediately, he would clean the apartment, do repairs and allow her to live rent-free for the remainder of the month. By January, 1996, no African-Americans remained in the 18 unit complex and none became tenants for the remainder of Mr. Combs' ownership of Waters Edge, a period of over three years.

FHOM receive discrimination complaints from a number of Caucasian residents of the complex regarding Mr. Combs' statements that he was proud to own an all-White building. Several witnesses in the lawsuit stated that Combs made comments such as "I don't want any "niggers' in my building. I own it. I'll have who I want", and "I'll sell the place before I rent to a nigger". The agency filed the lawsuit in 1997. Over the course of the discovery process, Mr. Combs ran afoul of the Court's discovery orders and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governing discovery. In October 1998, Judge Jenkins gave Mr. Combs a warning regarding the discovery violations. When more violations were uncovered, Judge Jenkins issued default judgment in favor of Fair Housing of Marin on March 4, 1999, stating that the defendant's failure to produce documents was a "willful and bad-faith attempt to obfuscate the discovery process and mislead FHOM and the court". Fair Housing of Marin was represented in the lawsuit by D. Scott Chang, a solo practitioner and Kim Zeldin of Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro.

Nancy Kenyon, Executive Director of Fair Housing of Marin, stated that the agency would conduct a special outreach program to African-Americans seeking rental housing in Marin County in an effort to remedy the damage done by Mr. Combs' actions. "Marin County has taken giant steps in its efforts to eradicate housing discrimination", she noted, citing the work of the Board of Supervisors' Task Force on Housing Discrimination, headed by Supervisors Steve Kinsey and Annette Rose. "We want African-Americans to know that they are welcome in our County. Fair Housing of Marin stands ready to assist them as they begin their search, and should they encounter any illegal, unfair treatment along the way."

Fair Housing of Marin provides counseling, investigative services, mediation and legal referrals to persons experiencing housing discrimination. When complaints are not mediated, FHOM refers clients to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or to civil rights attorneys. There is no charge for these services. The Fair Housing Hotline number is 415/457-5025.
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Note: U.S. District Court Order Number: C97-1247 MJJ