Court Says Apartment Owner Can Sue Jupiter

ATLANTA (CN) - An apartment complex owner has the right to challenge the housing laws of Jupiter, Fla., as discriminating against Hispanic residents, the 11th Circuit ruled.

Young Apartments sued the city, claiming that its overcrowding ordinance unfairly targets the owners of affordable housing for the town's growing population of Hispanic immigrants.

The trial court had ruled that Young lacked standing to bring an equal protection claim, stating that a non-Hispanic landlord could not claim racial discrimination against a Hispanic tenant. U.S. District Judge David Trager, sitting on the appellate panel by designation, disagreed.

"Young Apartments has standing to vindicate its own rights, which are distinct from the rights of its Hispanic tenants," he wrote. "Its pursuit of economic damages is sufficient to ensure that it would be an effective advocate in this case."

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