The owner, former property manager, and contractor of an apartment building in Lewiston, Maine, have agreed to pay a total of $39,500 to settle a lawsuit that accused the former property manager and his contractor of sexually harassing a female tenant. The case was brought by the Justice Department in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine in June 2024.
According to the Justice Department’s complaint, the alleged harassment began in 2019 and continued through 2020. The lawsuit claimed that the tenant was subjected to repeated and unwanted sexual comments and physical contact without her consent. The case is titled United States v. Methuselah Tree, LLC., Robert Ross, RLR Enterprises, Brian Bennett, and Henry Irvin Investments, LLC, Case No. 2:24-cv-00204-JAW. Pine Tree Legal Assistance represented the former tenant.
The legal action stemmed from a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD investigated and issued a charge of discrimination before referring the matter to the Justice Department.
Under the terms of the settlement agreements and consent decree, the former property owner will pay $35,000 to the tenant. The former property manager will pay $1,500 and his contractor will pay $3,000. Both must also complete Fair Housing Act training and are barred from working in property management or residential maintenance for one year. “The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and the settling defendants did not admit liability in the consent decree or settlement agreements.”
“If you are a victim of sexual harassment by a landlord or property manager or have suffered other forms of housing discrimination, call the Justice Department’s Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743 or submit a report online. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt.”
This resolution is part of an ongoing effort under the Justice Department’s Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative led by its Civil Rights Division with participation from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide. Launched in October 2017, this initiative aims to address sexual harassment involving landlords or others who control housing access; since its start it has resulted in 49 lawsuits alleging sexual harassment in housing settings and over $16 million recovered for victims.
