Landlords for a Windsor Locks apartment complex must pay
$113,500 to prospective tenants for illegally refusing to rent to them due to
race, authorities say.
Federal Judge Janet C. Hall determined that Merlien Hylton,
owner of 5 Townline Road, her husband, Clifton Hylton, and Hylton Real Estate
Management breached the federal Fair Housing Act in denying a lease to renters,
the Connecticut U.S. Attorney's Office said Monday.
The judge this summer ruled in the case filed in October
2011 that the defendants discriminated in the terms, conditions, or privileges
of renting to prospective tenants based on their race; and made discriminatory
statements based on race regarding the rental of their property.Merline Hylton was ordered to pay compensatory damages for the actions of her husband and HREM, Clifton Hylton, whom the judge determined "acted with evil motive'' and showed no remorse, and HREM were ordered to pay compensatory and punitive damages to the victims totaling $76,091.05, investigators said.
Hall also ordered the defendants to pay attorneys' fees of
$37,422 to the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, which represented the victims.
The Hyltons and HREM couldn't be immediately reached Monday
for comment.
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