The Victims Get the Short End

An owner of apartment houses settled a housing discrimination suit in Orange County for $775,000. The lawyer who represented the plaintiffs received $645,000 of that. A nonprofit group and the tenants who suffered the discrimination got the remaining 17%. There is something wrong with this picture.

The stunning disparity in the awards to the parties, which were announced last week, is sure to provide more ammunition for the “blame-the-lawyers” movement. It also detracts from what should be the true importance of the action: eradicating discrimination in housing. By law, people are entitled to live where they wish, regardless of race, marital status and whether they have children, among other factors.

Clark B. Biggers, owner of four apartment complexes in Anaheim, Fullerton and Brea, agreed to pay the $775,000 to settle the lawsuit, filed three years ago by the Fair Housing Council of Orange County.

Given the seriousness of the issues raised, the outcome should send a message that society will not tolerate discrimination in housing. However, having so much of the money go to an attorney rather than the aggrieved parties reduces the satisfaction found in the conclusion of the case.

The Fair Housing Council filed a class-action suit on behalf of more than two dozen people who said they were denied apartments or overcharged because they had children. Several other plaintiffs accused the owner of racial discrimination. Biggers admitted no wrongdoing.

In most personal injury cases, such as those involving a car accident, lawyers work for a portion of the final judgment, perhaps 30% to 40%. Under state law, housing discrimination cases are handled differently. After tenants and a group such as the Fair Housing Council accept their settlements, the plaintiffs’ lawyers negotiate their fees with lawyers for the defendant. A judge approves the final settlement.

A Fair Housing Council official said its law firm worked on the case for three years and more than 5,000 hours. It is difficult to see why so much time was needed on a case that hardly appears to be a groundbreaker, even though the council said the defendant’s failure to settle sooner kept the meter running. Other lawyers said that in cases involving housing discrimination, civil rights and consumer rights it is not uncommon to have attorneys’ fees larger than the sums received by the plaintiffs.

Lawyers familiar with such cases say they usually restrict their pro bono work to matters such as evictions and family law. Expanding their expenses-only practice to areas like housing discrimination would be a good idea.