Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
This settlement is closed!
Please see what other class action settlements you might qualify to claim cash from in our Open Settlements directory!
Current and former residents of the Silvertree Mohave condominium complex in Fremont, California may claim payment from a recent housing discrimination settlement.
Plaintiffs Domenica Lewis and Jerrold Lewis brought this housing discrimination class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and their two children. They accuse the complex’s homeowners’ association of violating federal and state housing discrimination laws by maintaining rules that forbid resident children from playing in the complex’s common areas.
From as far back as 2003, the Silvertree Mohave association passed resolutions that allegedly prohibited children’s recreational activity within the condominium complex, threatening quick and expensive punishment for any violators.
Violators of a prohibition on playing sports in the common areas were threatened with an “automatic fine of $50.00” per infraction. According to the class action lawsuit, a June 2004 newsletter recommended that residents who witness unattended children in the common areas call Child Protective Services.
Newsletters distributed from April 2014 through March 2015 allegedly published a long list of fun activities not to be tolerated on the premises, under threat of a $250 fine per occurrence.
According to the Lewises, these rules discriminate against them and their children based on age and family status. They argue such discrimination violates federal and California civil rights as well as anti-discrimination laws.
Defendants named in the class action lawsuit are the Silvertree Mohave Homeowners’ Association Inc. and several individual members of the association’s board of directors, as well as Management Solutions, the association’s property manager.
The Lewises are joined by co-plaintiff Project Sentinel, a non-profit group that advocates for fairness in housing. After the plaintiffs complained to Project Sentinel about the no-children rules, they say Silvertree Mohave retaliated with an intimidation campaign targeting them and other residents.
Under terms of the Silvertree Mohave class action settlement, qualifying Class Members will be entitled to a share of an $800,000 settlement fund. Payment amounts will depend on the number of children or persons with children living in each particular household at Silvertree Mohave during the applicable time period.
The defendants must also pay $35,000 in individual damages to the Lewises and $19,000 to Project Sentinel.
The settlement also brings an end to the rules at Sivertree Mohave forbidding children from playing in the common areas. Defendants are required to post signs on the property reading: “Any resident, including children, are permitted to play in common areas of the Complex.”
Two board members of the Silvertree Mohave homeowners’ association will be required to step down. Future board members must undergo fair housing training.
Class Members who want to object to the settlement or opt out of it must do so by Sept. 11, 2017.
Who’s Eligible
Class Members include all persons who lived at the Silvertree Mohave condominium complex in Fremont, Calif. between Jan. 1, 2011 and July 16, 2016, and either lived there with children under the age of 14 or were themselves children under the age of 14.
Potential Award
$2,335 per person (estimated)
The settlement administrator estimates that each Class Member will receive about $2,335 per person.
Each qualifying Class Member’s payment will be determined in part by the total number of Class Members. According to the settlement administrator, payments will be made on a per-household basis.
Each household’s payment will be based on the number of Class Members in the household during the applicable time period. For example, a family of four is expected to receive approximately $9,340 from this settlement.
Proof of Purchase
Claimants must submit the Household Information Form that was included with the Class Notice already sent out to known Class Members. Claimants who did not receive this paperwork but still believe they may be Class Members should contact the settlement administrator. These claimants can still make a claim but will need to provide proof that they qualify as Class Members.
Frequently Asked Questions
Household Information Form Deadline
9/11/2017
Case Name
Lewis, et al. v. Silvertree Mohave Homeowners’ Association Inc., et al., Case No. 3:16-cv-03581, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Final Hearing
10/26/2017
Settlement Website
www.SilvertreeMohaveSettlement.com
Claims Administrator
Lewis v. Silvertree-Mohave Homeowners Association Claims Administrator
c/o Kurtzman Carson Consultants
P.O. Box 404000
Louisville, KY 40233-4000
1-866-763-9501
Class Counsel
Thomas P. Zito
Kyra A. Kazantzis
Annette D. Kirkham
Nadia Aziz
Matthew Warrn
LAW FOUNDATION OF SILICON VALLEY, FAIR HOUSING PROJECT
Constance F. Ramos
Corey D. Attaway
WINSTON & STRAWN LLP
Defense Counsel
Lisa R. Roberts
Thomas G. Beatty
MCNAMARA NEY BEATTY SLATTERY BORGES & AMBACHER LLP
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
One thought on Silvertree Mohave Housing Discrimination Class Action Settlement
This is just plain stupid, imagine you owned an apartment complex, this infers too much government intervention. I’m sure these rules were created after many complaints of other tenants from annoying loud kids outside of their apartment. I can relate to this in my own complex with some kids having no ruling from parents and being very disruptive. If you don’t like the policy, you should have moved out.