December 7, 1972, Standing for Current Tenants

Trafficante v Metropolitan Life Insurance, The U.S. Supreme Court offered important judicial guidance on interpreting the Fair Housing Act, ruling that current tenants in a large apartment complex had standing to sue their landlord for discrimination against minority applicants; it also established four tenets of statutory construction: (1) the statute should be construed broadly; (2) integration is an important goal of the FHA; (3) courts may, in appropriate cases, rely on case law under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (prohibiting discrim- ination in employment) to help interpret the FHA; and (4) HUD interpretations of the FHA are entitled to substantial weight.

by IFHCIdaho August 18, 2021