United States v. California Mobile Home Park Management Co.

The United States filed a civil rights complaint on behalf of Elayne Cohen-Strong, which the district court dismissed. ' The district court then denied Cohen-Strong’s post-judgment motion to intervene, and in a prior appeal we reversed both the dismissal and the denial of intervention and remanded the case to the district court. On remand the district court did not allow Cohen-Strong to file a new complaint demanding a jury trial. It later held a one-day bench trial and entered judgment for defendants. We hold that the district court erred in not allowing Cohen-Strong to file a demand for a jury, trial, but that because no reasonable jury could find for Cohen-Strong, the denial was harmless error.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

This is an action under Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (“Fair Housing Act” or “FHA”), amended by 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3631 (1988), originally brought by the United States on behalf of appellant Elayne Cohen-Strong (“Cohen-Strong”), a mother of a handicapped child and a resident of the Cos-ta Mesa Mobile Estates. Cohen-Strong alleges that she was discriminated against on the basis of handicap when appellees Brian Dougher (“Dougher”) and the…