Case Studies
Defended Claims of Discrimination by Way of Anti-SLAPP Statute
Janet Everson and Kelly Fair successfully defended claims of discrimination based on disability by way of the California anti-SLAPP statute (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Policy). The firm's client is a 107 unit, nonprofit, low-income housing cooperative whose membership pays subsidized rents pursuant to Federal law and the rules and regulations of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Certain residents of the cooperative were in violation of the cooperative's policies regarding pet ownership. After failed efforts to informally resolve the dispute with the residents, the housing cooperative sought to evict the residents through an unlawful detainer action. In response, the residents filed suit claiming discrimination based on disability. Through a special motion to strike, the residents' claims of discrimination were eliminated on the basis that the housing cooperative's actions in pursuing their eviction remedies through the court system were privileged acts under the California Litigation Privilege which protects parties from retaliatory lawsuits arising out of statements made in, or actions taken relative to, a judicial proceeding.