WRP filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a tenant who was sexually harassed by her housing manager.
WRP, the ACLU of Alabama, Legal Services Alabama, and the Central Alabama Fair Housing Center represent Yolanda Boswell, a woman threatened with eviction for refusing sexual advances. The lawsuit alleges that Jamarlo GumBayTay, a real estate manager hired by the property owner Matthew Bahr, repeatedly tried to coerce the plaintiff into having sex with him, raised her rent because she refused to have sex with him, and also threatened to evict her when she refused.
In February 2007, a federal lawsuit was filed against GumBayTay and Bahr, charging that these practices violate the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion, familial status and disability. The judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering GumBayTay to cease harassing Ms. Boswell and prohibiting him from taking any action to evict her. The case is ongoing.
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