Local News in Brief : Landlady Told to Pay $23,000 in Bias Case

The state Fair Employment and Housing Commission has ordered a Los Angeles landlady to pay more than $23,000 to a woman who was denied an apartment because of her race.

The apartment owner, Hanum K. Sarkisian, was “acting on a mindless and vicious prejudice” when she told Theresa Renee White, an accountant at USC, that she would not rent White an apartment because of problems with previous minority tenants.

The unanimous ruling, made public last week, awarded White $20,000 for emotional distress, $2,500 in punitive damages and $800 in additional housing costs caused by the rejection. The commission also ordered Sarkisian to rent an apartment to White if one is available and to include a notice about the case in future rental applications.

When representatives of a local Fair Housing Council inquired by telephone about renting from Sarkisian, she asked about their race, complained about non-payments and property damage allegedly caused by minority tenants and blamed the deterioration of the neighborhood on Mayor Tom Bradley, the commission said.

Sarkisian, identified in the ruling as the owner of seven pieces of real estate in Los Angeles worth a total of $257,000, did not attend the commission hearing or send a lawyer. Efforts to reach her for comment were unsuccessful.