Wetzel v. Glen St. Andrew Living Community, LLC
901 F.3d 856 (2018)
Premium Feature
Subscribe to Lexplug to listen to the Case Podcast.
Rule of Law:
Under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), a landlord can be held liable for failing to take reasonable steps to stop severe or pervasive tenant-on-tenant harassment that is based on a protected characteristic, when the landlord has actual knowledge of the harassment.
Facts:
- Marsha Wetzel, an openly lesbian woman, moved into Glen St. Andrew Living Community ('St. Andrew') after her partner of 30 years died.
- Her tenancy agreement gave St. Andrew the power to evict tenants who interfered with others' peaceful enjoyment or posed a threat to health and safety.
- Beginning a few months after moving in, other residents subjected Wetzel to a 15-month campaign of verbal abuse, including homophobic slurs, and threats of violence.
- Residents also physically assaulted Wetzel, including ramming her scooter, flipping a dining table on her, spitting on her, and striking her in the head.
- Wetzel repeatedly reported this verbal and physical abuse to St. Andrew's management.
- In response to her complaints, management staff took punitive actions against Wetzel, including barring her from common areas, stopping her cleaning services, and falsely accusing her of rule violations.
- Due to the harassment and management's response, Wetzel began avoiding common areas and eating meals in her room, forgoing services included in her agreement.
Procedural Posture:
- Marsha Wetzel sued Glen St. Andrew Living Community and its management staff in federal district court.
- Wetzel's complaint alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) for failure to provide a non-discriminatory living environment and for retaliation.
- The defendants filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, arguing the FHA does not hold landlords liable for tenant-on-tenant harassment without the landlord's own discriminatory animus.
- The district court granted the defendants' motion and dismissed Wetzel's federal claims.
- Having dismissed the federal claims, the district court relinquished supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims.
- Wetzel, as the appellant, appealed the district court's dismissal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Premium Content
Subscribe to Lexplug to view the complete brief
You're viewing a preview with Rule of Law, Facts, and Procedural Posture
Issue:
Does the Fair Housing Act create liability for a landlord who has actual notice of severe and pervasive tenant-on-tenant harassment based on a protected status but fails to take reasonable steps within its control to stop it?
Opinions:
Majority - Wood, Chief Judge
Yes. The Fair Housing Act imposes liability on a landlord who has actual knowledge of severe and pervasive tenant-on-tenant harassment based on a protected status but is deliberately indifferent, meaning it fails to take reasonable remedial action within its control. The court reasoned that while the FHA's text does not explicitly define the scope of landlord liability for third-party conduct, it should be interpreted consistently with analogous anti-discrimination statutes like Title IX. Drawing from the Supreme Court's decision in Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, the court held that a landlord's own inaction in the face of known discriminatory harassment can itself constitute a form of discrimination. Liability is not vicarious for the tenants' actions but is direct, based on the landlord's own failure to act when it had the power to do so. Here, St. Andrew had such power through its tenant agreement, which allowed it to evict tenants who interfered with others' peaceful enjoyment. By failing to use its 'arsenal of incentives and sanctions' to address the known harassment, St. Andrew could be found to have directly violated its duty under the FHA to provide a non-discriminatory housing environment.
Analysis:
This decision establishes a significant precedent in the Seventh Circuit by confirming that landlords have an affirmative duty under the FHA to address known discriminatory harassment between tenants. It expands the scope of landlord liability from being responsible only for their own discriminatory acts to include liability for their deliberate indifference to the discriminatory acts of others on their property. By importing a standard similar to Title IX's 'deliberate indifference' test, the ruling provides a clear framework for analyzing hostile housing environment claims based on third-party conduct. This creates a powerful tool for tenants facing harassment and compels landlords to take such complaints seriously or risk direct liability under federal law.
Unlock the full brief for Wetzel v. Glen St. Andrew Living Community, LLC