Management Company Sued For Evicting Victim of Domestic Violence

In October 2009, the Shriver Center and attorneys from Reed, Smith, Sachnoff and Weaver filed a federal lawsuit against AIMCO and several of its subsidiaries alleging that they violated the Fair Housing Act when they evicted a tenant as a result of domestic violence against her in her AIMCO apartment.  In 2007, Kathy Cleaves Milan was living in the Elmcreek Apartments in Elmhurst, Illinois when her then fiancé tried to kill her and himself after she ended the relationship.  The lawsuit, which was a front page article in the Chicago Tribune, alleges that Ms. Milan stopped the attempted murder suicide, called the police, had the abuser involuntarily committed to a hospital, and barred from the premises by obtaining an Order of Protection.  After Ms. Milan told the management company what had happened and provided them with a copy of her Order of Protection, she was issued a notice terminating her tenancy.  Because victims of domestic violence are predominately women, a growing body of law supports the proposition that discrimination against victims of domestic violence, like Ms. Milan, constitutes sex discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act.