United States v. Hughes Memorial Home
396 F. Supp. 544 (1975)
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Rule of Law:
A private, non-commercial, charitable children's home that provides long-term residential care is considered a 'dwelling' under the Fair Housing Act of 1968. As such, its racially restrictive admissions policy, even if enacted in good faith, constitutes an unlawful discriminatory practice.
Facts:
- In 1922, the will of John E. Hughes established a trust to create an orphanage 'for the white children of the States of Virginia and North Carolina.'
- Pursuant to the will, the Hughes Memorial Home was established as a private, non-sectarian children's home.
- The Home provides long-term residential care for needy and dependent children, aged six to eighteen, with an average stay of about four years.
- Children residing at the Home live in dormitory-style cottages and attend local public schools, treating the facility as their permanent residence.
- The Home's trustees consistently interpreted the will's provision as a mandate to forbid the admission of Black children.
- On April 18, 1973, the Home explicitly rejected an application submitted on behalf of a Black child for racial reasons.
- Due to its racially restrictive admissions policy, the Home became ineligible for referrals from public welfare agencies and for federal surplus commodity programs, which it had previously utilized.
Procedural Posture:
- The United States Attorney General filed a civil action against the Hughes Memorial Home in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
- The complaint alleged that the Home violated the Fair Housing Act of 1968 by making dwellings unavailable to Black children.
- Hughes Memorial Home filed a motion to dismiss the complaint or, in the alternative, for summary judgment.
- The district court denied the Home's motion, reserving the right to reconsider it, and requested the parties to develop the factual and legal issues.
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Issue:
Does a private, charitable children's home that provides long-term housing for needy children qualify as a 'dwelling' under the Fair Housing Act of 1968, thus making its policy of excluding children based on race unlawful?
Opinions:
Majority - Dalton
Yes, a private children's home is a 'dwelling' under the Fair Housing Act, and its racially restrictive policy is unlawful. The Act's definition of 'dwelling' includes any building occupied as a 'residence,' which is not limited to temporary or transient visits. Since children live at the Hughes Memorial Home long-term, it functions as their residence and thus falls under the Act. The Act's prohibition against making a dwelling 'otherwise unavailable' because of race is a broad, catch-all phrase not limited to commercial sales or rentals. Furthermore, the statute’s creation of a narrow exemption for religious organizations demonstrates Congress's intent to cover non-commercial, non-religious charitable institutions like the Home. The Home's consistent policy of excluding Black children, maintained over its entire history, constitutes a 'pattern or practice' of discrimination, which is prohibited by the Act regardless of the trustees' good faith belief that they were bound by the founder's will.
Analysis:
This decision significantly broadens the application of the Fair Housing Act beyond traditional commercial real estate transactions like sales and rentals. It establishes that non-profit, charitable institutions providing long-term shelter, such as orphanages or children's homes, are considered 'dwellings' and are therefore subject to the Act's anti-discrimination provisions. The court's liberal construction of the term 'dwelling' and the phrase 'otherwise make unavailable' sets a precedent for applying the FHA to a wide range of residential facilities. This interpretation reinforces the principle that the effect of a policy, not the intent or motive behind it, is the key determinant in Fair Housing Act violations.
