David Montagne, Fair Housing Act Violations, Oregon 2023

David Montagne, an Oregon developer, and his affiliates have agreed to pay $80,000 and remove accessibility barriers at Gateway Village, a 275-unit apartment complex in Salem, Oregon, to settle a lawsuit alleging that they had violated the Fair Housing Act by building the complex with steps and other features that made it inaccessible to persons with disabilities.

The lawsuit, filed in September 2011, arose as a result of a complaint filed by the Fair Housing Council of Oregon with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). After HUD investigated the complaint, it issued a charge of discrimination and referred the matter to the Justice Department.

Under the terms of the parties’ agreement, Montagne and the other developers, Montagne Development Company, Gateway II LLC, Dav II Investment Group LLC, and William Jones, must take extensive actions to make the complex accessible to persons with disabilities. These corrective actions include removing steps from sidewalks, widening interior doorways, reducing threshold heights, replacing excessively sloped portions of sidewalks, and installing properly sloped curb ramps to allow persons with disabilities to access the sidewalks from the parking areas.

In addition, these defendants will pay $48,000 to the Fair Housing Council of Oregon, whose investigation revealed the violations and which intervened in the United States’ lawsuit, and $32,000 to establish a settlement fund for the purpose of compensating disabled individuals impacted by the accessibility violations.

The Justice Department is strongly committed to the enforcement of the fair housing laws that protect the rights of persons with disabilities to have equal opportunities to enjoy the housing of their choice.

According to the terms of the settlement, individuals who are entitled to share in the settlement fund will be identified through a process established in the settlement. Persons who believe they were subjected to unlawful discrimination at Gateway Village either when they lived there or considered living there should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743 mailbox # 9993 or e-mail the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov.

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt.

MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS

Public Corruption|White Collar Crime

United States, Road Design Negligence, Washington 2017

Aug 17, 2017

Public Corruption|White Collar Crime

Hampton Corporation Inc., Fair Housing Act Violations, North Dakota 2020

Apr 4, 2023

Public Corruption|White Collar Crime

Lashaun Calvin Lacy, False Declarations, Iowa 2021

Nov 22, 2021

Public Corruption|White Collar Crime

Roberta Police Department, Police Hiring Grant, Georgia 2013

Feb 19, 2015