The Arkansas Attorney General’s office said Tuesday they are evaluating whether to proceed after the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission recently determined there is reasonable cause to believe Latinos are being discriminated against at a west Little Rock apartment complex.
This month the commission found the Waterford apartments, part of Bailey Properties, on Green Mountain Drive failed to give Latinos applications in a timely manner if at all.
Harry Hamlin with the law firm Mitchell Williams represents Bailey Properties and dismissed the commission’s finding as just one step in the legal process.
“We want to be in front of the judge and the jury to address these. So, that’s still yet to come but the bottom line is there has been no final adjudication. We’re not anywhere close to that yet,” said Hamlin.
What becomes of the Housing Commission’s determination is up the Arkansas Attorney General’s office and the Department of Justice.
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s (D) spokesman Aaron Sadler said the office received notice of the findings Monday and will be “visiting with clients to discuss next steps.”
Hamlin also denied allegations of discrimination contending Bailey Properties actively tries to prevent it.
“Not to say that any larger organization doesn’t have employees that would discriminate, you know certainly against corporate policy. We mandate training annually and for some of our senior staff even more often than that,” said Hamlin.
The Housing Commission’s determination stems from a 2013 complaint and investigation by the National Fair Housing Alliance.
