Case Summary: Bloch v. Frischholz (7th Cir.)

On November 13, 2009, the en banc Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Bloch v. Frischholz (7th Cir.) ordered the partial reinstatement of a Jewish family’s FHA suit against a condominium board that repeatedly removed a mezuzah, a small religious object required by the familys’ faith, from their door frame. The original panel affirmed the trial court’s finding for the defendants in holding that the FHA does not reach post-acquisition discrimination per Halprin v. Prairie Single Family Homes and that the condo association did not discriminate because it acted under a neutral, though previously unenforced, policy of barring hallway clutter. On January 16, 2009, at the request of the en banc Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States filed an amicus brief arguing that the court should reinstate a Jewish familys’ FHA suit against a condominium board that barred them from placing a mezuzah on their door frame. In its brief, the United States argues that the trial court and the panel majority erred in holding that the FHA did not apply to post-acquisition discrimination and that the family presented evidence suggesting that the condominium board changed the enforcement of its rules to bar the familys’ mezuzah based on anti-Jewish animus. The en banc decision "effectively overrules Halprin as far as § 3617 is concerned" and holds that the "contractual connection between the Blochs and the [Condo] Board distinguishes this case from Halprin" for purposes of § 3604(b). As a result, the court found the plaintiffs ’claims of post-acquisition discrimination viable under both FHA provisions and ordered the trial court to determine whether defendants acted with discriminatory intent on remand. As for Section 3604(a), the unanimous court agreed with Halprin in holding that post-acquisition discrimination claims under this provision extend to actual and constructive evictions (and little else) but dismissed this count after finding that the plaintiffs failed to explain their decision to remain on the premises.