FEDERAL JUDGE ISSUES A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AGAINST LOCAL PROPERTY MANAGER AND OWNER SUED FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT
February 23, 2007
MONTGOMERY -- Yesterday U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins issued a preliminary injunction against Jamarlo GumBayTay, an agent of Elite Real Estate Consulting Group, ordering him to cease the sexual harassment of a renter and stop any and all actions to evict her. The injunction was issued in a lawsuit filed by Legal Services Alabama on February 14, 2007.
The complaint was filed by Kenneth Lay and Connie Baker on behalf of a woman threatened with eviction for refusing the sexual advances of Mr. GumBayTay. Additional Defendants include Elite Real Estate Consulting Group and Matthew Bahr the owner of the property in question. Attorneys for the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, Emily Martin, and the ACLU of Alabama, Allison Neal, will be joining the case as co-counsel.
GumBayTay repeatedly tried to coerce the plaintiff into having sex with him and threatened to evict her when she refused. The tenant has also alleged that GumBayTay raised her rent in January 2007 because she refused to have sex with him.
The lawsuit charges that these practices violate the federal Fair Housing
Act, which prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, national
origin, sex, religion, familial status, and disability. The lawsuit asks
that the Court order the defendants to stop harassing the plaintiff, to cease
from initiating any eviction action against her, and to pay her compensatory
and punitive damages
“By exposing illegal
sexual discrimination in cases like these, we hope more women are encouraged
to come forward and assert their rights,” said Kenneth Lay, housing advocacy
director for Legal Services Alabama . “This also puts property
owners on notice that they are responsible for the discriminatory acts of their
managers.” Lay said.
“Too often landlords and rental agents try to exploit low-income women who have few affordable rental options by demanding sex as a condition of housing. Lawsuits like this one send the message that this form of exploitation is never acceptable,” said Allison Neal, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama.
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