Little Rock-based Arkansas Fair Housing Commission has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a resident of the 1404 Caldwell apartment building in Conway, Arkansas, against its owner and operator — Conway-based San Jersey Properties and Little Rock-based Conners Management — alleging harassment and discriminatory treatment based on the resident’s familial status.
The suit, filed on Oct. 3 in Pulaski County Circuit Court, also names Conway resident Edward Conners as a defendant. Conners is the owner of Conners Management, according to his LinkedIn profile, and shares an address with San Jersey Properties. None of the defendants responded to requests for comment from Multifamily Dive.
On July 29, 2021, Conners, who managed the property directly, allegedly contacted the resident regarding a noise complaint made about his children while he was not at home. Conners requested that the resident agree not to have children in the unit while he was not present, and to provide a written statement confirming the agreement.
When the resident did not provide this statement, Conners allegedly repeatedly texted and called him demanding it and threatened eviction if the statement was not given. The resident filed a complaint with the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission regarding these messages on Sept. 1, 2021. The case has not yet been scheduled for trial.
The complainant was the single adult resident of his unit and had three minor children who were between the ages of 6 and 15 at the time, one who lived with him and two who visited, according to court documents. The complaint does not specify which of the children were present in the unit at the time the resident was not at home.
Arkansas is one of 37 states that does not have any law stating a minimum age at which children can be left at home without adult supervision.
Familial status
In the initial complaint, the resident stated that the defendant’s alleged actions were in violation of the federal Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing Act, as well as Arkansas’s Fair Housing Act. These laws include familial status as a protected class and outlaw discriminatory behavior based on familial status, as well as coercion or threats related to a fair housing action undertaken by a tenant.
The Arkansas Fair Housing Commission claims that the defendant’s treatment of the resident was discriminatory against families with children and that his repeated requests and eviction threat constituted coercion, harassment and intimidation.
In his response to the complaint, Conners told the AFHC that the resident routinely left his children unsupervised in his unit.
“Our office has received several complaints in the past about obnoxious behavior coming from the unit,” Conners said in his response. “The most recent, prior to [July 29, 2021], occurred on or around November 2020.” The property’s lease includes a statement forbidding “obnoxious behavior in the reasonable judgment of the Landlord,” Conners said.
Conners affirmed in his response to the AFHC that he had asked for a written statement from the resident. The AFHC’s report states that Conners’ response is incomplete and did not address the harassment allegations.
