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Jury sides with tenant in housing discrimination

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle - 5/18/2017

A federal jury in Butte on Wednesday sided with a Bozeman tenant who alleged that her landlord discriminated against her based on her disability.

The jury awarded the tenant, Kristen Newman, $37,000 in damages.

In the original lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Butte, Newman alleged that her landlord, Jaclyn Katz, owner of Service Realty LLC in Bozeman, charged Newman a $1,000 deposit to keep her service dog.

According to court documents, Newman has both physical and mental disabilities resulting from a traumatic brain injury. Newman’s service dog, Riley, has helped her cope with PTSD and severe anxiety as well as alerting her to impending migraines.

Several times over the course of their lease agreement, Newman told Katz it was illegal to charge her for a service animal. In response, Katz threatened to evict Newman if she did not pay the deposit, according to court documents.

Under the federal Fair Housing Act, it is illegal to discriminate in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status.

“Persons with disabilities have the right to live in and enjoy their communities, just as all families do throughout our nation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We commend the jury for recognizing that the Fair Housing Act prohibits landlords from discriminating against persons with disabilities, and we will continue to work to eliminate discriminatory barriers in housing for persons with disabilities.”

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