Summary
The court granted HUD’s petition to enforce a consent order requiring a landlord to pay damages and a civil penalty and attend fair-housing training. It held that the landlord’s objections were not reviewable because he failed to file a timely petition for review and had waived that right in the consent order.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether HUD was entitled to enforcement of the consent order when Bassali had not timely petitioned for review of that order.
- Whether Bassali could challenge the consent order in the enforcement proceeding based on alleged attorney misconduct and seek removal of references to the dismissed allegations from the internet.
Holdings
- Bassali's objections could not be considered because he did not file a petition for review within the statutory 45-day period and expressly waived his right to seek review in the consent order.
- HUD was entitled to enforcement of the consent order, and the court granted HUD's petition and enforced the order.
- Bassali could not obtain removal of internet references through the enforcement proceeding because the consent order contained no promise to remove all references to the allegations.
Key quotations
“Because the Act provides that the clerk of the court of appeals “shall forthwith” enter a decree enforcing the order where no petition for review has been filed, 42 U.S.C. § 3612(n), HUD is entitled to enforcement of the consent order.” (616)
“Accordingly, we GRANT the petition and hereby ENFORCE the consent order.” (616)
Factual background
Reyes alleged that Bassali refused to rent to her because of her familial status, in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Bassali failed to attend the initial administrative hearing, and the ALJ entered a default judgment. The parties then consented to an order requiring monetary payments and fair-housing training, but Bassali failed to perform his obligations.
Procedural history
Roziel Reyes filed a Fair Housing Act complaint with HUD against Bassali. After Bassali failed to appear at the initial hearing, an administrative law judge entered a default judgment, followed by a consent order requiring Bassali to pay Reyes $15,000, pay the government $2,000, and attend fair-housing training. HUD dismissed the complaint with prejudice pursuant to the parties' agreement. After Bassali failed to comply, HUD petitioned the court of appeals to enforce the consent order; the court granted the petition.