Karl Pfaff Elizabeth Pfaff v. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Opinion
Opinion
Hall, J.
The petitioners are private landlords who have asked us to review a decision of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) finding them liable for “familial status” discrimination under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”). The question presented is whether the petitioners’ facially neutral, numerical occupancy restriction illegally discriminates against families with children. Declining to reach the merits of the prima facie ease, we hold that the petitioners have successfully rebutted any prima facie case against them. Furthermore, we admonish HUD for its heavy-handed conduct in this ease. We grant the petition.
I
This story begins in the spring of 1992 with an eviction notice and Beekie Nymoen’s search for a new house in the Bellingham, Washington area. There were all the usual considerations to weigh: budget, location and adequate space for the family’s three young children. She and her husband, Michael Ny-moen, decided to aim for a three-bedroom rental in the range of $800 to $900 a month. She would look in an area called Sudden Valley which, they felt, would be both near to Michael Nymoen’s work and hospitable to the children.