Lawsuit Accuses Encino Apartment Operators of Not Renting to Blacks

Operators of an Encino apartment complex who allegedly refused to rent to blacks have been accused of racial discrimination by the Fair Housing Congress of Southern California.

Beaumont Property Management Co. and its employees are named in a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit served last week.

According to the lawsuit, the manager of the 60-unit Casa Verde apartment complex at 5500 Newcastle Ave. refused to rent to four different prospective black tenants who responded to ads for furnished one-bedroom apartments last fall.

Each was told that no apartments were available. But shortly after each rejection, prospective white tenants were invited to inspect apartments that they were told were available, according to the complaint filed with the suit.

Beaumont officials were unavailable for comment Friday.

Accusation Denied

But Jean B. Katowsky, manager of the Encino complex and who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, denied the accusation.

“I would never do that,” Katowsky said. “I have black people living in three apartments in the building right now. I have preached ever since I can remember that everybody is alike, and everybody’s blood is red.”

Officials of the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Commission said the suit marks the fourth time that Beaumont Property Management has faced discrimination complaints.

The firm paid $20,000 in damages in July to a racially mixed couple turned down when they tried to rent an apartment at a Harvard Boulevard complex that Beaumont manages in the Hollywood area, said Gloria A. Barrios, an attorney for the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

Complaints Settled

On two earlier occasions, Beaumont settled discrimination complaints filed by the department “for nominal amounts,” Barrios said.

As part of last year’s case, Beaumont was ordered by an administrative judge to promise in its advertising that it adhered to “equal housing” guidelines for the Harvard Boulevard complex. The firm was also required to allow monitoring by fair housing advocates and to teach its managers the law, Barrios said.

“I’m surprised they’re in trouble again,” she said. “You’d think they’d be attempting not to discriminate in the future.”

The lawsuit prompted by the Encino incidents was filed for the Fair Housing Congress by lawyers for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Responded to Ad

It was triggered when prospective renter Nathan Beams responded to an ad for an apartment and was informed by Katowsky that all units had been rented, according to the complaint. Four days later, Beams noticed another ad that stated one-bedroom apartments were available but was again told none was vacant, the complaint stated.

After that, the Fair Housing Congress tested Casa Verde by sending in black mock applicants followed by whites, according to the lawsuit. In each instance, the blacks were turned down, but the whites were offered $600-per-month rentals, the lawsuit alleges.

Attorney Patrick O. Patterson said the suit seeks a court order that would prohibit racial discrimination at the Encino complex in the future. It is also seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

The lawsuit alleges that Beaumont has violated both state and federal anti-discrimination laws.