The U.S. Department of Justice recently filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against a homeowner, her real estate broker and RE/MAX Realty 100.

The suit was filed on behalf of Tami Doss, an African American woman who was a potential buyer for the home of Edith Halvorsen. Halvorsen’s real estate broker is Phyllis Hasenstab of RE/MAX Realty 100.

Doss is a principal in the Milwaukee Public School system, which requires its employees to live in the city of Milwaukee. A first-time homebuyer, Doss enlisted the services of real estate agent, Margaret Silkey to purchase a four-bedroom house for herself and her two college-age sons.

Halvorsen’s home, located on West Mount Vernon Avenue near Blue Mound Road, was particularly desirable to Doss because it was near her workplace.

The suit alleges that Halvorsen and Hasenstab violated federal fair housing law by refusing to allow Silkey to show Halvorsen’s house to Doss because of Doss’ race.

In July of 2005, Silkey learned that Halvorsen’s home was going to be put on the market, and contacted Halvorsen to tell her that she had a prospective buyer for the house. Halvorsen reportedly asked Silkey if her client was Black and made statements indicating that she did not want to sell the property to a Black person.

Halvorsen reportedly said that when Blacks moved into her sister’s neighborhood, property values fell. Silkey told Halvorsen that African Americans moving into a neighborhood do not cause property values to fall, but that not maintaining property causes values to go down. Silkey closed the interaction by telling Halvorsen that she would sell the home to whomever had the money to purchase it.

Shortly thereafter, Silkey reportedly saw that Halvorsen’s home had a "for sale" sign outside the property. She contacted Phyllis Hasenstab, the real estate agent listed on the sign, to attempt to schedule an appointment to show the home to Doss. Hasenstab did not return Silkey’s calls.

Silkey then called the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), and told an MLS employee of Halvorsen’s discriminatory remarks. She indicated that she wanted to ensure that Hasenstab was aware of Halvorsen’s discriminatory comments.

In early August 2005, Silkey reportedly made another attempt to contact Hasenstab and RE/MAX Realty 100 to schedule an appointment for Doss to see Halvorsen’s home. She was informed by a receptionist that the listing included instructions that Silkey was not permitted to show the property.

When Silkey later asked Hasenstab why she had been excluded, Hasenstab told her it was because Silkey had notified the MLS about Halvorsen’s discriminatory comments. Shortly thereafter, Halvorsen sold her home to a White man.

Silkey reportedly contacted the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council (MMFHC) and filed complaints. MMFHC counseled Silkey on her legal rights and options for remedy. Silkey and Doss filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), alleging that Halvorsen, Hasenstab and RE/MAX Realty 100 had discriminated against them based on Doss’s race.

HUD conducted an investigation. In September of this year, HUD determined that there was reasonable cause to believe that violations of the Federal Fair Housing Act had occurred.

In October, the defendants opted to have the case heard in federal court rather than by a HUD administrative law judge, and the U.S. Department of Justice assumed responsibility for the case on behalf of Doss and Silkey. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge J.P. Stadtmueller.

The lawsuit seeks monetary and other damages from Halvorsen, Hasenstab and RE/MAX Realty 100. Doss was "offended, hurt and shocked" by the experience and stopped her search for a home to purchase as a result.

She told HUD investigators that she "felt a sadness that people still feel this way." Despite the fact that she was not yet ready to retire after over two decades as a real estate agent, Silkey decided to leave the real estate business after this experience, as she was disillusioned by the lack of ethics exhibited by the defendants and because she felt her reputation in the business had been damaged.

"This type of discrimination experienced by Tami Doss is hurtful in many ways," said MMFHC President and CEO William R. Tisdale. "Obviously, it hurt Ms. Doss as an individual, but discrimination also has a ripple effect on an entire community. It harms our economy by impeding ethical businesses like Margaret Silkey’s. Without Ms. Silkey’s integrity and persistence, this discrimination would have gone unchecked, but clearly Ms. Silkey paid a price.

"Housing discrimination perpetuates our segregated housing patterns and marginalizes many people from full participation in our society. It is unfair to everyone who would choose to live in an inclusive, integrated neighborhood. Discrimination hurts all of us."--Information for story provided by MMFHC.