JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – JWB Property Administration introduced Thursday it reached a settlement in a lawsuit that claimed the company’s screening algorithms discriminated against rental applicants who are Black.
The lawsuit was filed in opposition to JWB Property Administration and JWB Actual Property Capital by Jacksonville Space Authorized Support (JALA) in March of 2023 on behalf of 4 individuals who utilized to hire houses from the corporate.
The plaintiffs claimed JWB violated the Truthful Housing Act in rejecting their rental functions due to the existence of an eviction submitting in opposition to them, regardless that they had been filed in error, or in a single case, filed in opposition to a special individual with the same identify.
The plaintiffs alleged that the coverage disproportionately affected candidates who’re Black. JWB vehemently denied the allegations.
In a press launch Thursday, JWB mentioned, “Within the negotiated settlement, JWB voluntarily agreed to change its utility course of, and the knowledge supplied on its web sites to make clear that tenants with eviction filings can apply for tenancy with JWB and all candidates might be assessed on a case-by-case, individualized foundation.”
The lawsuit alleged that the algorithm of a third-party screening platform utilized by JWB flagged rental candidates’ eviction filings, even when they had been made in error and ordered sealed by the court docket. The go well with claimed JWB denied 4 plaintiffs’ housing functions due to the existence of eviction filings in opposition to them, regardless that they’d proof they had been made in error and dropped.
In court docket paperwork, JWB denied that the plaintiffs had been denied housing due to the eviction filings, and argued they’d “substantial, reputable, and non-discriminatory causes for his or her leasing insurance policies.”
“As a Jacksonville-based actual property firm, JWB serves hundreds of tenants and our group works onerous to grasp every tenant’s distinctive state of affairs,” mentioned Alex Sifakis, founding father of JWB. “JWB continues to be a number one supplier of reasonably priced housing choices throughout Northeast Florida, and we’re grateful for the chance to maneuver ahead positively to proceed to serve our neighborhood.”
The go well with alleged JWB’s alleged coverage of denying functions primarily based on the existence of an eviction submitting disproportionately affected Black candidates, as a result of they’re extra prone to be the targets of eviction filings and since most of JWB’s properties are in areas which might be disproportionately Black when in comparison with the remainder of Duval County.
In June, a federal judge denied JWB’s motion to dismiss the case, which meant it may have gone earlier than a jury.
Court docket data present the plaintiffs and defendants collectively filed to dismiss the case on Monday, and the court docket ordered the case closed Tuesday.
No discovering of race discrimination was made in opposition to JWB within the case.
“We commend JWB’s willingness to obviously set forth that tenants with eviction filings are usually not robotically denied housing alternatives with JWB primarily based on these filings alone, which Plaintiffs alleged had a disparate impression primarily based on their race,” mentioned Suzanne Garrow, a lawyer in Jacksonville Space Authorized Support’s Truthful Housing Unit who represented the plaintiffs. “The main target of any evaluation of tenant worthiness when reviewing an utility for tenancy ought to be on the present capability of the applicant to pay hire and cling to the phrases and obligations of the lease.”
News4JAX reached out to JWB and Jacksonville Space Authorized Support for info on a settlement quantity. A spokesperson for JWB declined to reveal any potential settlement phrases past the small print included of their information launch.
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