Evicted Over Boyfriend's Alleged Abuse, Woman Files Sex Discrimination Suit
After her live-in boyfriend allegedly threatened her with a gun, Kathy Cleaves-Milan called police and got a court order of protection against him.
But when she informed the managers of the suburban Elmhurst apartment complex about the crime report, they evicted her, the 36-year-old tells the Chicago Tribune. A copy of the order of protection that she provided to management was even stapled to the eviction notice that terminated her lease, she contends.
Now Cleaves-Milan has filed suit over the eviction, which she and her lawyers say is a form of sex discrimination. She is represented by the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and Reed Smith.
A representative of Aimco, the defendant company that owns and operates the complex, says the prohibition against criminal activity applies to all apartment residents, the Tribune reports:
“The basis for that eviction was the fact the violence had occurred,” says spokeswoman Cindy Duffy of the Cleaves-Milan situation. “As the safety of our residents is our top priority, we have a zero-tolerance policy for any criminal activity at our communities.”
Although some states have clear laws against evicting women due to domestic violence, Illinois is not one of them, the newspaper says.
For more details about the case, read the full article.
