Housing group sues Century 21 |
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Thu, 25 Jan 2007 00:49
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DETROIT (AFX) - A national housing watchdog group on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit against Century 21 Real Estate LLC and a Detroit-area franchisee alleging racial discrimination in steering potential homebuyers.The National Fair Housing Alliance's suit comes on the same day the Michigan Department of Civil Rights announced a charge of discrimination against the franchisee and its owner.The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, alleges that Century 21 Town & Country real estate agents are engaged in unlawful racial steering by showing potential black homebuyers homes in primarily black neighborhoods and potential white homebuyers homes in primarily white neighborhoods.The Washington-based nonprofit group said it filed its original complaint in July 2005 with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, which announced its discrimination charge in a statement.The housing alliance said it's joined in the lawsuit by a black Detroit-area family, who says it was a victim of racial discrimination. The federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability or familial status.Deidre Swesnik, a spokeswoman for the alliance, said her group engaged in talks with the real estate franchisee mediated by the state's civil rights department, but the issues could not be resolved.A message seeking comment was left Wednesday with Century 21 Town & Country owner John Kersten. Century 21 is a unit of Parsippany, N.J.-based Realogy Corp.The alliance said it would discuss details of its investigation Thursday at a press conference in Detroit.Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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