Read selected civil rights and constitutional law cases litigated by the Kennedy Hunt, P.C.
Fair Housing Lawsuit Against the City of Springfield
Kennedy Hunt P.C. and the Department of Justice jointly represent Individual Advocacy Group in a years-long Fair Housing case against the city of Springfield, Illinois. The lawsuit alleges that the City of Springfield used unlawful zoning practices to attempt to close the home, where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities lived. In 2014, three men with severe disabilities moved into a home in Springfield, Illinois, in accordance with the law. They were provided support by our client, Individual Advocacy Group, Inc. In 2016, the City of Springfield tried to shut the home down because it claimed the home was too near another small home where individuals with disabilities lived. The City refused to grant our clients the zoning permit they needed to stay open and refused to grant our clients’ request for reasonable accommodation. By doing so, the City was in clear violation of the Fair Housing Act. In July 2022, a federal jury rendered a verdict for $293,000 in compensatory damages against the City of Springfield to the victims: $162,000 to the residents of the home and their guardians, and $131,000 in compensatory damages to the Individual Advocacy Group. In December 2023, the United States District Court of Central Illinois issued a mostly favorable order in the case, requiring the City to pay over $61,000 in civil penalties and $53,000 in prejudgment interest to our client. Many motions are still pending in this case.
Housing Discrimination Lawsuit Against the Village of Hinsdale, Illinois
We successfully represented our client, a sober living home provider, in a housing discrimination case against the Village of Hindsdale, Illinois. In June 2019, our client purchased a five-bedroom home in Hinsdale and later requested reasonable accommodation to operate its group sober-living home in a single-family zoned area of the Village. Hinsdale did not approve the reasonable accommodation request, and instead, the next day, the Village allegedly filed a lawsuit to evict Trinity. In November 2019, we filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act. In November 2020, the Department of Justice filed a companion lawsuit, also claiming Hinsdale violated the Fair Housing Act. In November 2023, we successfully landed an $800,000 settlement in the case, including a $790,000 settlement for damages to our client, Trinity Sober Living. $10,000 goes to the government as a civil penalty. The consent decree also includes an overhaul of portions of the Village’s zoning code and four years of oversight by the Department of Justice. In addition to the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, Kennedy Hunt P.C. also co-counseled with Bradley Staubus of Esposito & Staubus LLP.
Fair Housing Case Against Table Mound Mobile Park
We represent a woman with physical and mental disabilities who has been battling Table Mound Mobile Home Park, the owners of the mobile home community she lives in, for years. Our lawsuit alleges that Table Mound rapidly raised Ms. Klossner’s rent, included illegal provisions in her lease, and wrongfully denied the housing choice voucher Ms. Klossner was awarded from the federal government due to her disabilities, among other things. In October 2021, a judge ordered Table Mound to accept Ms. Klossner’s vouchers, a monumental win for housing rights advocates. This case is ongoing.
Housing Rights Hearing in Scottsdale, Arizona
Kennedy Hunt P.C. successfully represented our client, Scottsdale Recovery Center, in a housing rights case in Scottsdale, Arizona. Our lawsuit alleged the zoning administrator wrongly interpreted that Scottsdale Recovery Center was not permitted to operate a sober living home in multifamily zoning districts and therefore could not open at its property. In November 2021, the Scottsdale Board of Adjustment found that the sober living home is, in fact, a group home. The Board also approved our request for reasonable accommodation, allowing a sober living home to operate in a specific zoning district. With this win, Scottsdale Recovery Center is now able to operate its sober living home.
Fair Housing Lawsuit Against the Village of Woodrow of Illinois
We are representing Oxford House, a not-for-profit corporation striving to provide individuals in recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction the opportunity to develop comfortable sobriety without relapse. Oxford House operates nearly 4,000 houses in the United States. Oxford Houses are individually self-run, self-supporting homes for individuals recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction. Residents live together in a family-like environment and pay their pro rata share of rent and utilities each month to the house treasurer, who then pays the house bills. According to our lawsuit, the Village of Woodrow unlawfully interfered with our client’s operation and occupancy of dwellings for disabled persons recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction in violation of the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act. Our lawsuit alleges the Village of Woodrow sent a notice of violation to the owner of the home being used as an Oxford House, claiming it violated the Village’s zoning code. The lawsuit claims that an attorney for Oxford House sent a letter to the Village on behalf of the plaintiffs in this case. The letter requested that the Village make a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act by waiving the limit on the number of unrelated persons that could reside together as a family. In August, an attorney from the Village denied Oxford House’s accommodation request. This case is ongoing.
Kennedy Hunt P.C. also represents Oxford House in a fair housing case against the City of Peoria, Illinois.
Human Rights Case Against Missouri Department of Social Services, Division of Youth Services
Our lawsuit alleges that the Missouri Department of Social Services, Division of Youth Services, discriminated against our client based on his disability while he was a student at Bissell Hall, a place of public accommodation. Our client is a person with various disabilities, including Reactive Attachment Disorder (“RAD”), Autism Spectrum Disorder (“ASD”), Oppositional Defiance Disorder (“ODD”), and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (“ADHD”). Our lawsuit alleges that our client did not have a teacher for most of his tenure at Bissell Hall, and that instead of providing specialized instruction, the school provided our client with packets of worksheets. Our lawsuit also alleges the school graduated our client early from school at 18 without advising him of his right to stay in school until age 21. According to the lawsuit, as a direct and proximate result of the above-described acts, our client has suffered and will continue to suffer pain of mind and body, shock, emotional distress, physical manifestations of emotional distress, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, disgrace, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of life. This case is ongoing.