SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Owners of a Garden Grove apartment complex agreed Friday to pay $270,844 to settle housing discrimination lawsuits accusing them of evicting Hispanic families in favor of Vietnamese tenants, officials said.
The Department of Justice filed complaints against Gary Luke, Mary Ngo and Hoa Ngo regarding an apartment complex on Adland Street, said Connie Der Torossian of the Fair Housing Council of Orange County.
The settlement, which involves 10 adults and 14 children, will be final when it is signed by U.S. District Judge James Selna.
The complaint accused the owners of terminating leases of Hispanic tenants to replace them with Vietnamese tenants, misrepresenting the availability of units to non-Vietnamese prospective tenants, and making statements in connection with the rental of apartment units that expressed a preference, limitation or discrimination based on national origin.
Der Torossian said that plaintiffs Rafaela Alonso, Norberto Barranco, Graciela Barrera, Laura Castaneda and Maria Castaneda and their families were told to vacate their apartments so that renovations could be made, but neither they nor any other Hispanic family was allowed to move back in or reapply for tenancy.
According to the complaint, Maria del Carmen Maldonado, a prospective tenant, was denied the opportunity to rent a vacant apartment.
"The Fair Housing Act protects people of every national origin from discrimination in housing," said Grace Chung Becker, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "The Department of Justice is committed to continued vigorous enforcement of federal laws to protect people, regardless of their national origin, from housing discrimination."
Neither Luke nor defense attorneys James McDonald or Christine Baran could be reached for immediate comment.
The lawsuit arose as a result of a charge issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The consent decree, which could be signed in about two weeks, calls for training, a nondiscrimination policy, record-keeping and monitoring.
