Arizona Announces Large Housing Discrimination Settlement

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne yesterday announced the largest settlement of a fair housing suit in the history of the state's Civil Rights Division. The owners of a Tempe, Arizona apartment complex have paid Soha Abdelrahman and her husband, Hany Ibrahim, $197,500 to settle claims that Villatree Apartments discriminated against the couple because they were Arab, Egyptian and Muslim. The settlement also involved payment of $30,000 to the state Civil Rights Division to fund enforcement of state civil rights laws. The suit alleged that defendants complicated the rental application process, refused requested repairs and eventually evicted the couple after they complained about discriminatory treatment.