Schonton v. MPA Granada Highlands LLC

DANYELA SCHONTON, et al., Plaintiffs, v. MPA GRANADA HIGHLANDS LLC, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 16-cv-12151-DJC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

March 5, 2020

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

CASPER, J.

I. Introduction

Plaintiffs, Brazilian tenants and tenant applicants, allege that Defendants MPA Granada Highlands LLC, Metropolitan Properties of America, Inc., Jeffrey J. Cohen, Marisa V. Cohen, Paula Nigro and Jacqueline Motta (collectively, "Defendants") discriminated against them in violation of the Fair Housing Act ("FHA"), 42 U.S.C. § 3604 (Count I), the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (Count II) and Mass. Gen. L. c. 151B, § 4(6) (Count III), the claims that remain as the other counts of the amended complaint have been dismissed. D. 46; D. 71. Defendants now have moved for summary judgment on the remaining claims. D. 130. At the motion hearing, counsel for Plaintiffs indicated that they are no longer pursuing Counts II and III. For the reasons stated below, the Court ALLOWS the motion for summary judgment as to Count I.

II. Standard of Review

The Court grants summary judgment where there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the undisputed facts demonstrate that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). "A fact is material if it carries with it the potential to affect the outcome of the suit under the applicable law." Santiago-Ramos v. Centennial P.R. Wireless Corp., 217 F.3d 46, 52 (1st Cir. 2000) (quoting Sanchez v. Alvarado, 101 F.3d 223, 227 (1st Cir. 1996)). The movant "bears the burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Carmona v. Toledo, 215 F.3d 124, 132 (1st Cir. 2000); see Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). If the movant meets its burden, the non-moving party may not rest on the allegations or denials in her pleadings, Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 256 (1986), but "must, with respect to each issue on which she would bear the burden of proof at trial, demonstrate that a trier of fact could reasonably resolve that issue in her favor," Borges v. Serrano-Isern, 605 F.3d 1, 5 (1st Cir. 2010). "As a general rule, that requires the production of evidence that is 'significant[ly] probative.'" Id. (alteration in original) (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249). "Neither party may rely on conclusory allegations or unsubstantiated denials, but must identify specific facts derived from the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions and affidavits to demonstrate either the existence or absence of an issue of fact." Magee v. United States, 121 F.3d 1, 3 (1st Cir. 1997). In conducting this inquiry, the Court "view[s] the record in the light most favorable to the nonmovant, drawing reasonable inferences in his favor." Noonan v. Staples, Inc., 556 F.3d 20, 25 (1st Cir. 2009).

III. Factual Background

The following facts are drawn from Defendants' statement of undisputed material facts, D. 132, Plaintiffs' response to same, D. 138, and other supporting documents and are undisputed unless otherwise noted.

Plaintiffs are current and former tenants and tenant applicants of Defendants' apartment complex, Altitude Apartments, which was formerly known as Granada Highlands ("Granada"), who allege discrimination based upon their Brazilian national origin between January 1, 2016 and the present. See D. 46 ¶¶ 118-22; D. 138 ¶ 1. Defendant Granada is a complex of 919 apartment units in multiple buildings located on Kennedy Drive in Malden, Massachusetts. D. 138 ¶ 1. Defendant MPA Granada Highlands, LLC ("MPA") is the owner of Granada. Id. Defendant Jeffrey J. Cohen is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MPA. Id. Defendants Marisa V. Cohen ("Cohen"), Paula Nigro ("Nigro") and Jacqueline Motta ("Motta") are current or former employees, agents or servants of MPA and/or Granada. D. 138 ¶¶ 2-4.

A. Rental Policies at Granada

Granada has instituted a written policy of requirements to rent units in their buildings (the "Rental Policy"). D. 13-40. The Rental Policy includes a section titled General Rental Screening Criteria (the "General Criteria"). D. 13-40 at 9. The General Criteria states that all applicants must have either a social security card or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number ("ITIN"). Id. The General Criteria indicates that, if an applicant is unable to provide a social security card or an ITIN, they must produce a visa or an immigrant green card. Id. Pursuant to the General Criteria, applicants must also submit prior rental history, proof of employment and income and must pay applicable fees and deposits, among other requirements. See id. at 9-13.

The Rental Policy states that "foreign-born, non-US citizen [a]pplicants require special processing" and cross-references to a subsection titled "Conditional Approvals." D. 13-40 at 9. The relevant subsection applies to "Foreign Citizen[s], Non Students." D. 13-40 at 14. This provision applies to "only those foreign citizens temporarily working in the US on an approved VISA." Id. The provision requires that those foreign citizens must submit either a social securitynumber or an ITIN as well as a "valid photo passport" along "with their VISA." Id. The policy also indicates that foreign citizens are required to provide proof of income "by an established company." Id. If a foreign applicant has resided in the United States for more than three months, they are required to submit proof of residency. Id.

The Rental Policy also includes a list of specific requirements for all potential tenants. See id. at 18-21. The Rental Policy states that "[e]ach applicant must provide two unexpired forms of identification (a valid driver's license, passport, age of majority card, military ID, or state issued photo ID cards are acceptable)." Id. at 18. The Rental Policy also details income and credit requirements, rental history and employment history requirements. Id. at 18-19. The list of requirements limits the number of occupants that are allowed to reside in each unit and lists the specific required deposits and fees. Id. at 19. Potential tenants are also subject to criminal background checks and are required to obtain rental insurance. Id. at 19-20. Finally, the Rental Policy indicates certain limits on pets per unit. Id. at 20.

Defendants claim that a former employee, Emil Kreymer ("Kreymer"), who worked for Granada for approximately eight months in 2015, regularly did not follow Granada's Rental Policy when leasing to tenants. D. 138 ¶ 19. In fact, certain Plaintiffs have represented that Kreymer did not require them to submit more than one form of identification to lease an apartment at Granada. See D. 138 ¶¶ 42, 62, 124.

B. Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Danyela Schonton ("D. Schonton"), her husband Sergio Luciano Schonton ("S. Schonton," together the "Schontons"), and her brother Jehozadak Sanches Alves Pereira ("Pereira") are current tenants at Granada who have resided at the complex since 2015. D. 138 ¶¶ 41, 43, 64, 81. The Schontons and Pereira were born in Brazil and are undocumented immigrants.D. 138 ¶¶ 35, 56, 75. When initially leasing their apartment at Granada, D. Schonton, S. Schonton and Pereira provided their Brazilian passports. D. 138 ¶¶ 42, 62, 80. Neither of the Schontons nor Pereira have a United States passport, a driver's license, a permanent or temporary resident card or a valid visa. D. 138 ¶¶ 37, 58, 77. Each of them has been issued an ITIN by the Internal Revenue Service. Id. Prior to the expiration of their lease, Motta informed Pereira that each tenant needed to provide additional documents to renew their lease, including an additional form of identification such as a driver's license, United States passport, visa or SSN card. D. 138 ¶ 46. Neither of the Schontons nor Pereira provided the requested documents. See D. 138 ¶ 47. Upon expiration of their lease, the Schontons and Pereira did not move out of the apartment at Granada and have been month-to-month tenants since that time. D. 138 ¶ 51.

Plaintiff Jasson Da Silva ("Da Silva") is a current resident at Granada. D. 138 ¶ 111. Da Silva was born in Brazil and came to the United States in approximately 2001 when he was eleven years old. D. 138 ¶ 87. In 2013, Da Silva was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival ("DACA") status, deferring deportation and allowing him to remain in the United States. D. 138 ¶ 90. Da Silva has a social security card and was granted employment authorization, but does not possess a United States passport, valid visa or a permanent or temporary resident card. D. 138 ¶¶ 91-92. Da Silva submitted his Brazilian passport when initially applying to lease a unit at Granada but did not submit any other identification. D. 138 ¶ 95. Da Silva and his family moved into a unit at Granada in 2009 and their lease was renewed for the next five consecutive years. D. 138 ¶¶ 97-98. In November 2016, Motta informed Da Silva that she would need additional documents to renew his lease, including two forms of identification, which could include a visa, passport or driver's license. D. 138 ¶ 102. Da Silva and his family did not provide the requested documents. D. 138 ¶ 103. Between 2014 and 2016, Da Silva and his family received fifteeneviction notices due to non-payment of rent and, in June 2016, Da Silva's mother received a cease and desist letter because there was an unauthorized satellite dish installed on the deck of their unit they rented. D. 138 ¶¶ 107-109. Da Silva and his family continue to reside at Granada. D. 138 ¶ 111.

Missieli Mason Souza ("Souza") is a current resident at Granada. D. 138 ¶ 135. Souza is a citizen of Brazil and has been granted DACA status. D. 138 ¶¶ 114-115. After receiving DACA status, Souza was issued a social security card and employment authorization. D. 138 ¶ 116. Souza and her husband initially applied for an apartment at Granada in 2015. D. 138 ¶ 121. At the time, Souza and her husband submitted copies of...