The Justice Department on Monday filed a discrimination suit against Los Angeles Clippers owner and real estate mogul Donald Sterling, accusing him of favoring Korean tenants while seeking to exclude African Americans and families with children from his apartment buildings in Los Angeles County.
The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, charged Sterling with violating the Fair Housing Act, a part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, by engaging in "discrimination on the basis of race, national origin and familial status." It also named Sterling's wife, Rochelle, and three Sterling companies and trusts.
Sterling owns about 100 apartment buildings with thousands of rental units in the county. In a prepared statement, Sterling's lawyer, Greg Garbacz, called the charges baseless.
For the last year, Garbacz said, the Sterling Corp. had engaged in "open dialogue" with the U.S. Department of Justice, which at no time identified "any evidence, document or witness supporting its allegations of housing discrimination."
Sterling and his companies "are committed to equal housing opportunities for all," Garbacz said, and have "tenants of all races, religions, national origins, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, as well as families."
In the seven-page complaint, Justice Department lawyers said Sterling's agents at various times have refused to rent to non-Koreans at their buildings in Koreatown, and have been guilty of "creating, maintaining, and perpetuating an environment that is hostile" to existing non-Korean tenants.
According to the lawsuit, the Sterling companies also have refused to rent to African Americans at properties in Beverly Hills, and have misrepresented the availability of units to blacks and families with children.
Prosecutors are seeking a court order that would bar future acts of discrimination, along with monetary damages for alleged victims, none of whom was identified.
"Here in Los Angeles, where housing is already at a premium, it is imperative that no one be denied housing simply because of their skin color, ethnic background or because they have children," said Debra Wong Yang, U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. "The Justice Department is dedicated to ending all discriminatory housing practices, along with every other type of civil rights violation."
