FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 8, 2023
COURT DENIES DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO DISMISS:
Equal Rights Center Has Standing to Sue Under the D.C. Consumer Protections Procedures Act and the D.C. Human Rights Act
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Last Friday, D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz denied Defendants Entrata’s and Barkan’s Motions to Dismiss claims against them in the ERC’s source of income and race discrimination case against the owners, managers and leasing call center for the Adams View property in northwest D.C. The Court held that the ERC has standing to sue under both the D.C. Human Rights Act (DCHRA) and D.C. Consumer Protections Procedures Act (DCCPPA), stating that the DCCPPA, “expressly empowers a public interest organization to sue on behalf of the interests of a consumer or a class of consumers.” The court found the ERC had satisfied the Court of Appeals’ three-part test to determine whether a public interest organization has standing to sue under the DCCPPA.
Of additional importance, Defendant Entrata, who answered leasing calls for Adams View at the time of the alleged discrimination, also claimed that as a third-party and subagent of the management company, they were an agent “acting in ‘good faith’ […] and cannot be held liable.” Judge Kravitz denied these claims, stating, “Entrata points to no section of the DCHRA that limits the class of persons and entities that may be held accountable for violations of the statute’s anti-discrimination provisions” and “the DCCPPA creates liability not only for an entity with which a good or service originates but for any associates that further the entity’s commercial plan”.
ERC Executive Director Kate Scott notes, “The ERC firmly believes that the burden of uncovering and eliminating discrimination should not be placed on victims of discrimination alone. This significant court order strengthens our ability as an organization to hold housing providers who have engaged in discriminatory behavior accountable.”
The ERC is a civil rights organization that identifies and seeks to eliminate unlawful and unfair discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations in its home community of Greater Washington D.C. and nationwide. On April 11, 2022, ERC filed a complaint in D.C. Superior Court against Adams Investment Group alleging violations of the DCHRA and DCCPPA on the basis of race and source of income. In December 2022, the D.C. Office of Attorney General intervened in the case. Since initially filing the complaint, ERC amended it to add three additional defendants: Broadhouse Management, Entrata, and Barkan.
Read the full order denying defendants’ motion to dismiss here.
Read the amended complaint against Adam’s View et. al here.
ERC is represented in this matter by Handley Farah & Anderson.
CONTACT:
Kate Scott, Executive Director
Equal Rights Center
kscott@equalrightscenter.org, 202-370-3220
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ABOUT THE EQUAL RIGHTS CENTER: The ERC is a civil rights organization that identifies and seeks to eliminate unlawful and unfair discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations in its home community of Greater Washington D.C. and nationwide. The ERC’s core strategy for identifying unlawful and unfair discrimination is civil rights testing. When the ERC identifies discrimination, it seeks to eliminate it through the use of testing data to educate the public and business community, support policy advocacy, conduct compliance testing and training, and, if necessary, take enforcement action. For more information, please visit www.equalrightscenter.org.
ABOUT HANDLEY FARAH & ANDERSON: Handley Farah & Anderson are lawyers who seek to improve the world. Based in Washington, D.C., they fight for: workers deprived of wages, consumers deceived about products, tenants denied access to housing, farmers mistreated by processors, parents deprived of adequate parental leave, investors who were defrauded, small businesses harmed by antitrust violations, persons with disabilities denied access, whistleblowers who uncover fraud, and women and communities of color subject to discrimination.
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The ERC is a civil rights organization that identifies and seeks to eliminate unlawful and unfair discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations in its home community of Greater Washington DC and nationwide. The ERC’s core strategy for identifying unlawful and unfair discrimination is civil rights testing. When the ERC identifies discrimination, it seeks to eliminate it through the use of testing data to educate the public and business community, support policy advocacy, conduct compliance testing and training, and, if necessary, take enforcement action. For more information, please visit www.equalrightscenter.org
