RALEIGH—Douglas Matthew Gurkins, 34, a Greenville resident, has been sentenced to 28 months in federal prison for using racial slurs against and threatening the lives of a Black American family, consisting of a mother and her four children—a criminal violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. At the sentencing hearing, other Black American tenants who had been victimized by Mr. Gurkins in the same manner shared their stories with the court.

The sentencing is the latest development in a years-long and still ongoing legal effort launched by Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Fair Housing Project against Mr. Gurkins and others on behalf of another Black American couple.

The U.S. Department of Justice, which prosecuted the case, announced the sentencing in a press release on November 23, 2020.

In August 2019, Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project and the law firm of Brancart & Brancart filed a federal civil lawsuit against Mr. Gurkins; the owner of the property, who is also Mr. Gurkins’ aunt; the company hired to manage the property; and one of the management company’s employees.

In 2017, Legal Aid’s clients began renting one half of a duplex in Greenville owned by Mr. Gurkins’ aunt. Mr. Gurkins lived in the other half.

The complaint alleges that soon after the couple moved in, Mr. Gurkins launched a campaign of racial harassment against them, repeatedly addressing them by using the “N-word”—sometimes in front of their minor grandchildren—and threatening them with physical violence.

The couple allege they pleaded with Gurkins’ aunt and the property manager to do something about him, but no one intervened or even investigated their complaints. Instead, according to the suit, the defendants attempted to evict the couple from the property.

In the lawsuit, it is alleged that Mr. Gurkins’ racist behavior and the failure of the others to do anything about it violated the federal Fair Housing Act. The defendants have all denied the allegations. The case is scheduled to go to trial in 2021.

“We are proud that justice is being served in this case on the criminal side,” said Kelly Clarke, supervising attorney of our Fair Housing Project.

“No one should have to live in fear because of the color of their skin. The Fair Housing Act entitles all Americans to enjoy their home free of racial harassment. Our clients look forward to having their day in civil court,” said Ayanda Meachem, a supervising attorney of Legal Aid of North Carolina.

Luis Pinto, staff attorney of Legal Aid of North Carolina, also works on this case and is counsel of record; both Meachem and Pinto work in Legal Aid’s Ahoskie office. Legal Aid of North Carolina co-counsels this case with Christopher Brancart of California-based law firm Brancart & Brancart.

Individuals may obtain information about fair housing by contacting the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina at (855) 797-3247.

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Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. To learn more, visit www.legalaidnc.org and www.fairhousingnc.org.

The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported in part by funding under a grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the federal Government.

Media Contact

Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, 919-856-2132, SeanD@legalaidnc.org

RALEIGH · Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) announced today that it has settled housing discrimination complaints against the architects, builders, and owners of five apartment complexes located in the Triad area of North Carolina. The five complaints, which our Fair Housing Project filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), alleged that the respondents failed to design and construct the complexes to make them accessible to persons with disabilities in compliance with the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA).

The complaints identified a number of alleged violations of FHA accessibility requirements in individual ground floor units as well as in common and public use areas. The respondents in the cases denied the allegations.

The complexes involved are: Brightwood Crossing Apartments, located in Whitsett; Chamberlain Place Apartments, located in Clemmons; Granite Ridge Apartments, located in Greensboro; Lafayette Landing Apartments, located in Jamestown; and Robinhood Court Apartments, located in Winston-Salem.

As a result of the conciliation agreement signed by the parties and approved by HUD on October 5, 2020, accessibility modifications will be made in 325 ground floor units, as well as in common areas in each of the properties. The respondents have estimated the cost of the modifications will be $1.3 million.

The agreement sets forth detailed requirements for the Respondents to undertake a wide variety of remediations, including:

• Provide accessible routes to certain buildings with apartment units
• Replace door hardware on unit entrance doors and on interior doors
• Retrofit kitchens to provide adequate clear floor space at the sink, range, and refrigerator
• Retrofit the bathroom sink cabinets to allow adequate clear floor space
• Ensure that thermostats, light switches, and least one electrical outlet in each room meet required height accessibility requirements
• Upon request of a tenant with a disability, install grab bars in bathrooms
• Retrofit doors within clubhouses and similar common areas
• Retrofit garages to comply with accessibility requirements
• Reassign mailboxes to increase accessibility
• Retrofit laundry rooms to provide accessible routes and door hardware
• Reposition or make changes in the access to playgrounds, pool areas, volleyball and tennis courts, dog parks, and other recreation areas so they have accessible routes

In addition to the accessibility modifications, employees of the builders, architects and owners with direct responsibility for the design and construction of covered multi-family dwellings will undergo training on relevant sections of both the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.

Jeffrey Dillman, co-director of the Fair Housing Project, noted that the accessibility provisions of the Fair Housing Act are of great importance to people with disabilities, stating, “Accessible housing is an essential means of ensuring that people with disabilities are able to fully participate in the community. Designers and builders must ensure that housing meets these modest federal accessibility requirements, in addition to state and local codes.”

The cases were filed with HUD in June 2017. The cases arose from accessibility testing performed by Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project, which uncovered the alleged violations.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of disability. Among other things, it requires all multifamily housing constructed after March 13, 1991, to have basic exterior and interior accessibility features. The requirements apply to units, as well as for public and common use areas, such as a leasing office, clubhouse, parking, dumpsters, mailboxes, picnic areas, and other site features or amenities.

The respondents in the case are BSC Holdings, Inc., Chamberlain Place Apartments, LLC, Granite Ridge Investments, LLC, Robinhood Court Apartment Homes, LLC, Lafayette Landing Apartments and Villas, LLC, Brightwood Crossing Apartments, LLC, Salem Commercial Contracting, L.L.C., dBF Associates, Architects, Inc., Windsor Contracting, LLC, and Erskine-Smith Architecture, PLLC.

Legal Aid was represented in these cases by Jack Holtzman, an attorney with the North Carolina Justice Center, a public interest law firm located in Raleigh. Legal Aid of North Carolina’s involvement in this litigation was made possible in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program.

Individuals may obtain information about fair housing by contacting the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina at (855) 797-3247.

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Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement.

The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported in part by funding under a grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the federal Government.

Media Contact

Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, 919-856-2132, SeanD@legalaidnc.org