Judge Arthur Spatt

Rios sought a preliminary injunction to stay the Town of Huntington Housing Authority from terminating her from the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program due to her guilty plea to felony assault. Rios explained to a housing authority hearing officer that she responded to a physical altercation in self defense, and pleaded guilty to the charge because she needed to care for her three small children. The hearing officer found her Section 8 benefits should not be terminated but the authority—stating that it was not bound by that decision—terminated benefits. The court found tenant not entitled to a preliminary injunction because there was no likelihood of success on the merits as to whether she had stated a valid due process claim under the Fourteenth Amendment. The court did note that it was troublesome that the authority did not follow the hearing officer’s decision because he referenced the wrong regulation. Due to the drastic nature of terminating the Section 8 benefits, coupled with the fact that Rios was a mother of three small children with no funds, the court extended the temporary restraining order for the stipulated period to enable the tenant’s counsel to seek comparable relief in state court.