JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES FORT LAUDERDALE APARTMENT OWNER FOR DISCRIMINATING AGAINST FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the owner of the South Bank Apartments in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for engaging in a pattern of discrimination against families with children. The complaint names Robert Yanofsky as the defendant.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleges that the defendant violated the Fair Housing Act by enforcing a lease provision that prohibited children under 18 years of age from living in the apartment complex.

Today's suit stems from a referral from the Department of Housing and Urban Development of a complaint filed by a woman who had lived in the complex for ten years. She was told that her lease would not be renewed after the birth of her first child because of the lease's prohibition against children. The Justice Department's suit alleges that other families also were harmed by the discriminatory policy.

The lawsuit seeks an order prohibiting the defendant from engaging in unlawful housing discrimination at South Bank Apartments. The lawsuit also seeks monetary damages for victims of the defendant's unlawful conduct and payment of a civil penalty.

Anyone who believes that he or she may have been the victim of discrimination at

South Bank Apartments should call the United States Attorney's Office at (305) 961-9327 or the Justice Department's Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at 1-800-896-7743.

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