HUD Sues Facebook for Housing Discrimination
HUD's complaint comes in an ongoing SDNY litigation against the social media company for alleged discrimination on grounds such as sex, race and family status.
August 17, 2018 at 06:16 PM
2 minute read
The original version of this story was published on New York Law Journal
A giant thumbs-up button marks the entrance to the Facebook Inc. campus, located at 1601 Willow Road in Menlo Park, California.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development hit Facebook Inc. with an administrative complaint alleging the social media company's advertising tools enable those managing property to discriminate in housing.
Filed on Aug. 14, HUD's administrative complaint alleges that both the social media company's ad targeting tools and user classification enable the limitation of ad audiences on characteristics “outright prohibited” by the Federal Housing Administration, said the government's formal statement of interest. Among the grounds on which Facebook is alleged to have allowed discrimination are “sex, religion, familial status, and natural origin, and pretexts for protected characteristics.”
In a letter to the court submitted Friday, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman for the Southern District of New York took HUD's side, noting that “the government has strong interest” in the matter, and agreed with its allegations that Facebook violated sections of the Fair Housing Act. Berman added that the government is in agreeance that Facebook “is not entitled to immunity” under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act,
The motion comes in a lawsuit brought by groups of fair housing advocates against Facebook in March 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs in the suit are National Fair Housing Alliance, the Fair Housing Justice Center Inc., Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence Inc. and Fair Housing Council of Greater San Antonio.
Representing Facebook in the suit are attorneys from Munger, Tolles & Olson. Presiding over the case is U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl of the Southern District of New York.
The statement of interest issued Friday was in response to a motion filed by Facebook in July to transfer venue to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. As an alternative, defense counsel also requested dismissing with prejudice an amended complaint by plaintiffs.
Read the Statement of Interest here:
[falcon-embed src="embed_1"]
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
‘Listen, Listen, Listen’: Some Practice Tips From Judges in the Oakland Federal Courthouse
Litigators of the Week: A Knockout Blow to Latest FCC Net Neutrality Rules After ‘Loper Bright’
An ‘Indiana Jones Moment’: Mayer Brown’s John Nadolenco and Kelly Kramer on the 10-Year Legal Saga of the Bahia Emerald
Litigators of the Week: A Win for Homeless Veterans On the VA's West LA Campus
Trending Stories
- 1States Accuse Trump of Thwarting Court's Funding Restoration Order
- 2Microsoft Becomes Latest Tech Company to Face Claims of Stealing Marketing Commissions From Influencers
- 3Coral Gables Attorney Busted for Stalking Lawyer
- 4Trump's DOJ Delays Releasing Jan. 6 FBI Agents List Under Consent Order
- 5Securities Report Says That 2024 Settlements Passed a Total of $5.2B
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
