The nation's first lawsuit filed under a new federal law that bars housing discrimination against families with children has been settled out of court for $25,000.
A federal court on Tuesday approved the settlement between the Justice Department and LaFonge Associates, an apartment management company.The department charged that LaFonge had refused to rent a one-bedroom apartment to a single mother and her child.
The case against LaFonge, owner of Somerset Mews Garden Apartments in Franklin Township, was the first under amendments to the federal Fair Housing Act.
The amendments passed last year prohibit housing discrimination against people with handicaps and those with children. Retirement communities with special facilities for elderly people are exempt.
LaFonge officials denied any wrongdoing.
"The owners do not want prolonged litigation to obscure their long-standing commitment to providing decent housing for all persons," the company said.
"Rather than devote substantial resources to litigation . . . involving a single isolated incident, it is far more appropriate to resolve this issue in a way which truly serves the goal of fair housing."
The $25,000 award will go to the Housing Coalition of Middlesex County, which brought the complaint to the Justice Department on behalf of the woman.