Jerome Johnson George Walker v. Verlin C. Hale, Cheryl Hale

ORDER

The memorandum disposition filed June 11, 1991, is redesignated with slight modifications as a per curiam opinion.

OPINION

Jerome Johnson and George Walker appeal the district court’s failure to award them compensatory or punitive damages in their 42 U.S.C. § 1982 housing discrimination action. The district court’s refusal to award punitive damages was not clear error; we therefore affirm that portion of the judgment. The district court committed clear error when it refused to award compensatory damages for humiliation and emotional distress. We reverse and remand with the instruction that the district court award plaintiffs an amount which will fairly compensate them for these injuries.

BACKGROUND

Verlin and Cheryl Hale own rental property in Billings, Montana. In March of 1988, Johnson and Walker, who are both African-American, telephoned Cheryl Hale regarding an advertisement in a local newspaper describing several available rental units. Cheryl Hale invited them to come and view the units. When Johnson and Walker arrived at the Hales’ residence, Cheryl Hale told them that her husband would not allow her to rent to “Negro men.” Johnson and Walker left and did not…