The Issue Whether the Respondent discriminated against Ida Heaps in violation of the Fair Housing Act and entitlement to any award therefor.
Findings Of Fact Respondent Barbara Strickland owns several houses in Sorrento, Florida. She has rented these houses for the past 15 to 20 years. During the entire period of time that Ms. Strickland has rented property, she has rented to Hispanics, but she has never rented to African-Americans. Ms. Strickland placed an advertisement in the July 3, 2002, Triangle Shopping Guide. The advertisement listed a four- bedroom, doublewide mobile home for rent, for $500 per month and a $500 deposit. The subject house is located on Church Street in Sorrento. Ms. Strickland and her husband had lived in the house until 1997. It had recently been renovated and had new carpet installed in preparation for renting the home. On July 4, 2002, Ida Heaps, who is white, and her boyfriend, Al Greene, who is black, saw the ad in the newspaper while shopping at a grocery store in Sorrento. Ms. Heaps went to a pay phone at the grocery store, called the telephone number listed in the ad and spoke with Ms. Strickland. Ms. Heaps held the telephone so that Mr. Greene could hear the conversation. Ms. Heaps and Mr. Greene live together and have a long- term family relationship. They have four children ages 5 years, 2 and 1/2 years, 14 months, and 3 months. During this phone conversation, Ms. Strickland gave Ms. Heaps information about the house, including the address. Ms. Heaps testified that Ms. Strickland asked whether Ms. Heaps was black; and Ms. Strickland stated, "I do not rent to blacks," or words to that effect. Ms. Heaps told Ms. Strickland that she was not black, but that her boyfriend was. Mr. Greene heard this comment, became upset and walked away from the telephone. He was no longer interested in the house because of Ms. Strickland's comments about race. Ms. Heaps persuaded him to, at least, go by to see the house. Ms. Heaps and Mr. Greene drove to the address where the subject house is located. The house was spacious, with enough room for Mr. Greene to have an office for his lawn care business and a large fenced yard that they felt would be ideal for their small children. The house also was located in a central area that provided easy access to major roadways and the areas where Mr. Greene's lawn care customers are located. Because of the home’s attributes Ms. Heaps talked Mr. Greene into attempting to rent the house because she was hoping that Ms. Strickland would see that "we were good people" and would rent to them. Indeed, Ms. Heaps’ and Mr. Greene’s rental history shows that they have rented houses for at least five years before changing locations and have been at their current residence for at least 2 years. Ms. Heaps returned to the store to call Respondent. Ms. Heaps told Ms. Strickland she had seen the house and was very interested in renting the house and was prepared to give Ms. Strickland a deposit on the house immediately. However, because Ms. Strickland had to take a family member to a medical appointment she could not meet with Ms. Heaps that day. Ms. Heaps told Ms. Strickland she would be going out of town for a few days and she would call Ms. Strickland upon her return to see if the house was still available. Sometime in early July 2002, Ms. Strickland was at the Eagle Club, a social club, talking with her friend Carol Ann Stone. Ms. Stone told her that she knew a lady, by the name of Pat Williams Torres, who was looking for a place to rent. Ms. Stone felt Ms. Torres was very responsible and would make a good tenant for the Church Street house. Ms. Strickland, Ms. Stone, and Ms. Torres met at the house on July 8, 2002, so that Ms. Torres could see the house. Ms. Torres was interested in renting the house, but had to leave town to check on her property in South Dakota that was being threatened by a large wild-fire. Ms. Strickland, tentatively, agreed to hold the house for her. Ms. Strickland agreed to hold the house for Ms. Torres because she was not in a hurry to rent it since her son had taken the air conditioner out of the house and she needed to replace it. Ms. Strickland also preferred renting to Ms. Torres instead of Ms. Heaps because she felt Ms. Torres would take better care of the house. Ms. Strickland testified she was reluctant to rent to Ms. Heaps because Ms. Heaps "had small children." Ms. Strickland testified that she did not know it was illegal to discriminate against families with children. However, no contract or deposit was placed on the house. Therefore, Ms. Strickland felt free to rent the house to another interested party. Ms. Heaps and Mr. Greene stayed in Georgia for several days. After returning from Georgia, on July 11, 2002, Ms. Heaps called Ms. Strickland to inquire about the house. Ms. Heaps was at home when she made this call. Also present at the house were Mr. Greene, and Ms. Heaps' mother, Marlene Heaps. Ms. Heaps testified that Ms. Strickland told her and kept stressing that she was holding the house for a lady named "Pat Torres," whose mother or sister was in a wheelchair. After speaking with Ms. Strickland, Ms. Heaps talked with her mother and stated she was suspicious of the reasons that Ms. Strickland was giving about the house. Approximately 15 minutes after the first call Ms. Heaps asked her mother if she could use her cell phone to call Ms. Strickland back. Ms. Heaps called Ms. Strickland on the cell phone, disguised her voice, identified herself as Marlene and asked about the house. Ms. Strickland gave her information about the house, including the address, and that the house was available to rent. The cell phone records for Ms. Heaps' mother's cell phone corroborate that Ms. Heaps call to Ms. Strickland was made on July 11, 2002, at 11:26 a.m. Ms. Heaps’ mother also corroborated the cell phone call and ensuing conversation. Ms. Heaps then called Ms. Strickland immediately back on her home phone and informed Ms. Strickland that she had just called using Marlene's phone and stated that Ms. Strickland did not want to rent to her because her boyfriend was black. She told Ms. Strickland she would not get by with it. Ms. Heaps was upset and hung up the phone. About one week after July 11, 2002, Ms. Heaps went on the Internet and obtained information about housing discrimination on HUD's website. Ms. Heaps testified that she submitted information to HUD and that several months later HUD informed her that the case was being referred to FCHR for investigation. Ms. Torres left in late July 2002 and came back to Florida in mid-August. Ms. Torres testified that while she was in South Dakota, she had an unexpected truck repair. This unexpected expense is the reason Ms. Torres did not have the money to rent the house from Ms. Strickland. Ms. Strickland testified Ms. Heaps called her several times after returning from Georgia inquiring about the house. She thought the calls involving the cell phone occurred in August. However, Ms. Strickland had also told the investigator for FCHR that the cell phone call had occurred in July. After Ms. Heaps called inquiring about the house, Ms. Strickland "got to thinking" that maybe she should check with Ms. Torres to see if Ms. Torres still wanted to rent the house. Ms. Strickland testified she had misplaced Ms. Torres' phone number so she had to call Ms. Stone to get the number. After getting the phone number Ms. Strickland called Ms. Torres, who told her she could not rent the home. Ms. Strickland testified that about 15 minutes later, she received a call from "Marlene." Ms. Strickland stated that the house was now available, and she informed "Marlene" of the home’s availability. Ms. Strickland testified that a few minutes after this call, Ms. Heaps called back and told her that her sister or mother, "Marlene," had just called. However, Lisa Sutherland, the investigator for FCHR, reviewed Ms. Strickland's phone bills for the months of June, July, and August 2002. There were no records of a long-distance call to South Dakota in any of the reviewed months’ bills. Given the cell phone records, Ms. Heaps' mother's corroboration of Ms. Heaps' testimony, the conflicting statements made by Ms. Strickland regarding the time of these calls and the lack of any records of a call to South Dakota, Ms. Strickland is not credible in regard to either the sequence of events regarding the cell phone call or the continued holding of the house for Ms. Torres. Her rationale for the change in the availability of the house in between the calls is simply pretextual. Ms. Strickland’s husband met Aaron Hoffman, who worked at an air-conditioning company. In September 2002, Ms. Strickland rented the house to Mr. Hoffman. Mr. Hoffman is white. After Mr. Hoffman moved out, Ms. Torres began renting the subject house from Ms. Strickland for $510 in rent. In September 2002, Ms. Heaps found a two-bedroom house in Tavares that she rented for $620 per month and paid a $580 deposit. Her family continues to rent this property. Ms. Heaps testified that if she had rented the house from Ms. Strickland, she planned to live there for several years. The Tavares house is not as large, costs more to rent, does not have a fenced yard, and is about eight miles farther away from the areas where Mr. Greene's customers are located. Ms. Heaps is entitled to the difference in rental and deposit values between the two properties for the period of time she would have reasonably rented Ms. Strickland’s property. However, the evidence did not demonstrate that the eight-mile difference had any significant impact on the mileage otherwise driven by Ms. Heaps or Mr. Greene. No other compensable damages were shown by the evidence.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that the Florida Commission on Human Relations enter an order finding Respondent guilty of a discriminatory housing practice against Ida Heaps in violation of Section 760.23(1), Florida Statutes, and prohibiting further unlawful housing practices by Respondent; and directing Respondent to pay to Ida Heaps within 30 business days from the date of the final order $7,280.00. DONE AND ENTERED this 28th day of September, 2004, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. S DIANE CLEAVINGER Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 28th day of September, 2004. COPIES FURNISHED: Vicki D. Johnson, Esquire Florida Commission on Human Relations 2009 Apalachee Parkway, Suite 100 Tallahassee, Florida 32301 John Merritt, Esquire 1500 East Orange Avenue Eustis, Florida 32726-4399 Ida Heaps 15246 Old Highway 441 Tavares, Florida 32778 Cecil Howard, General Counsel Florida Commission on Human Relations 2009 Apalachee Parkway, Suite 100 Tallahassee, Florida 32301 Denise Crawford, Agency Clerk Florida Commission on Human Relations 2009 Apalachee Parkway, Suite 100 Tallahassee, Florida 32301
Findings Of Fact On May 24, 1986, Joseph C. Devine, Petitioner, the complaining party, saw an advertisement in the Clearwater Sun for an apartment for rent. He called the number listed and was given directions to locate the restaurant which is adjacent to the apartment for rent. Devine proceeded to the location given and upon arrival some 10 minutes later was told that the apartment had already been rented. Ali Likmeta, Respondent, is the owner of the restaurant and of the 4- unit apartment building adjacent thereto. Likmeta was born in Albania, has been in the United States for 18 years and is a naturalized citizen. He speaks English with a heavy accent and does not fully understand everything said to him in English. Likmeta placed an ad in the Clearwater Sun to run for one week advertising a vacant apartment for rent. At the time this apartment became vacant, the tenants in the three other apartments were Albanian, Greek and Italian. On the evening of May 23, 1986, Mr. and Mrs. Agaj, the former owners of the apartments who had sold them to Respondent and were aware of the vacancy, drove to Safety Harbor where they picked up two Albanian men who had recently arrived in the United States. They drove these men to Respondent's place of business for the purpose of renting the apartment; however, the business was closed and the men were returned to Safety Harbor and instructed to return early the following morning to the restaurant. The vacant apartment was, in fact, rented to the Albanian, Gezim Muca, on May 24, 1986, who had been brought down the evening before by the Agajs. On June 2, 1986, Devine filed a complaint with the Clearwater Human Relations Commission alleging that he was discriminated against in housing because of his race (black). During the investigation and conferences between the parties that followed the filing of this complaint, Devine indicated he would accept payment in the amount of $1200 to drop the charges which Likmeta refused. Likmeta offered to rent to Devine the next apartment to become vacant which Devine refused for the reason as he testified at this hearing "I didn't want to risk my life in that environment." When asked by the Hearing Officer what he expected to obtain through these proceedings Devine replied, justice. When told that this tribunal lacked jurisdiction to place Likmeta in jail or award money damages to Devine, the latter responded that the Hearing Officer was prejudiced and it was obvious that he would not get justice at these proceedings and would take this case to the Supreme Court if neccesary.
The Issue Whether Respondent engaged in an unlawful housing practice in violation of Section 760.23, Florida Statutes.
Findings Of Fact Respondent operated Hickory Hill Mobile Home Park where tenants could rent spaces or lots for the placement of their mobile homes. By notice dated August 26, 1993, all tenants were notified of the closure of the park, effective one year from the date of the notice. On Friday, August 26, 1994, Respondent's representative, Patricia Tripp, preparing for the closure of the park, was notifying persons still in the park that their motor vehicles would have to be moved. She "tagged" cars with notices to owners to the effect that the cars must be moved or the cars would be towed after the conclusion of that day. Extensions were given by Tripp to those persons who requested them if their cars were going to be moved within a few days. At least one extension was granted to a white female tenant who informed Tripp that her car would be gone within a specific number of days of the deadline of August 26, 1994. On August 13, 1994, Petitioner, who is African-American and the former lessee of lot 31, purchased the trailer on lot 25 from the lessee of that lot. The lessee of lot 25 subsequently vacated the premises. Following his purchase, Petitioner then moved into the trailer on lot 25 without formally notifying Respondent. Petitioner moved his original trailer from lot 31 and from Respondent's park on August 18, 1994, continuing to reside at the trailer on lot 25. Under provisions of the form lease between Respondent and tenants of the park, tenants were required to park vehicles in the driveway to individual lots. No parking of vehicles on the street was permitted. Additionally, all motorized vehicles were required to meet state legal requirements to be operated in the park. On August 26, 1996, Petitioner still had a number of vehicles in the park, in addition to his newly acquired mobile home. The vehicles included a bus, manufactured in 1950; a 1978 pickup truck; a 1948 Chrysler automobile; and an ice cream truck. Some of the vehicles were not parked on Petitioner's lot. Tripp questioned Petitioner on August 26, 1994, regarding whether the vehicles belonged to Petitioner. Petitioner responded that they did. Tripp told him that the vehicles would need to be moved since the park was closing and informed him of the deadline. The discussion between the two became heated and eventually Tripp, who felt threatened by Petitioner's attitude and actions, left. Petitioner did not request an extension of the deadline with regard to his vehicles. On Monday, August 29, 1994, Petitioner's vehicles had not been towed. Around 2 p.m. in the afternoon, a tow truck arrived accompanied by a law enforcement officer. After verifying that Petitioner's vehicles met legal requirements and speaking with Respondents' representatives at the scene, the law enforcement officer left. None of Petitioner's vehicles were towed away. Petitioner eventually moved from the park on September 12, 1994, and Respondent's threat to tow Petitioner's vehicles was never realized. Petitioner suffered no quantifiable damages. FCHR's Determination Of No Reasonable Cause was issued on April 5, 1996, documenting FCHR's determination of the non-existence of reasonable cause to believe that a discriminatory housing practice had occurred. Petitioner subsequently filed his Petition For Relief on May 10, 1995.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing, it is, hereby, RECOMMENDED: That Florida Commission on Human Relations enter a final order dismissing the Petition For Relief. DONE and ENTERED this 4th day of November, 1996, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. DON W. DAVIS Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (904) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (904) 921-6847 Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 4th day of November, 1996. COPIES FURNISHED: Albert Jerome Lee Post Office Box 1232 Hawthorne, Florida 32640 Claude R. Moulton, Esquire Emmer Development Corporation 2801 Southwest Archer Road Gainesville, Florida 32608 Sharon Moultry, Clerk Human Relations Commission Building F, Suite 240 325 John Knox Road Tallahassee, Florida 32303-4149 Dana Baird, Esquire Human Relations Commission Building F, Suite 240 325 John Knox Road Tallahassee, Florida 32303-4149
