Federal regulators reported that a North Texas-based construction company will pay more than $10 million to settle disability discrimination allegations related to the construction of multi-family housing.
The U.S. Department of Justice Department announced that the settlement would resolve allegations that JPI Construction L.P. and six other JPI entities (collectively JPI) based in Irving, Texas, discriminated on the basis of disability in the design and construction of multifamily housing complexes throughout the United States.
Under the settlement, which was approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, JPI will pay $10,250,000 into an accessibility fund to provide retrofits at properties built by JPI and to increase the stock of accessible housing in the communities where these properties are located.
The settlement also requires JPI to pay a $250,000 civil penalty.
This is the largest civil penalty the Justice Department has obtained in any Fair Housing Act case, federal officials said.
The lawsuit was filed in March 2009, after the Justice Department conducted an investigation and found accessibility barriers at various JPI properties. Since 1991, JPI and its affiliates built 210 multifamily properties in 26 states and the District of Columbia; trial involving 32 of JPI’s properties was scheduled to begin July 9, 2012.
In addition to the $10.5 million payment, the consent order prohibits JPI from discriminating on the basis of disability in the future and from interfering with or preventing the retrofitting that will take place at the JPI properties.
Although JPI is no longer in the multifamily development and construction business, if JPI reenters the business, it is required to design and construct covered multifamily dwellings to fully comply with the requirements of the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The JPI entities that are responsible for paying the settlement amount are: JPI Construction L.P.; Multifamily Construction L.L.C.; JPI Apartment Development L.P., dba JPI Campus Quarters; Lifestyle Apartment Development Service L.L.C.; Jefferson Bend L.P., dba Jefferson at Mission Gate Apartments; Jefferson Lake Creek L.P., dba Jefferson Center Apartments; and Apartment Community Realty L.L.C.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas
Topics Lawsuits USA Texas Construction
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