Florida Landlord Who Discriminated Against His Tenant, Pays $20,000 In Damages

usdoj.gov, Dec 01, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Florida landlord who discriminated against his tenant and her guest on the basis of race will pay $20,000 in damages to his victims and relinquish the management of his residential property, under a settlement with the Justice Department. During a public hearing today, the Honorable Magistrate Judge Howard T. Snyder in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville admonished Thomas E. Nail of Starke, Fla. for violating the Fair Housing Act.

As part of the settlement agreement, the federal judge reproved Nail in court today for intimidating and harassing his white tenant and her black guest, for illegally raising his tenant's rent because her guest was black, and for violating "one of the most important civil rights laws of this Nation, the Fair Housing Act." He noted that the law was "passed to end the bigotry that has scarred this nation by denying persons, because of the color of their skin, the opportunity to fully participate in the rights and benefits of American society.

In June 2000, the Justice Department sued Nail, asserting that he directed racial epithets and derogatory racial statements at his tenant and her guest and expressed hostility toward African-Americans associating with Caucasians. In addition, Nail raised the tenant's rent because of the race of her guest, and he took actions calculated to frighten her and her guest in and around her home. In fear for her safety and for her guest's safety, the tenant moved from the property.