Recent Accomplishments Of The Housing And Civil Enforcement Section

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Recent Accomplishments Of The Housing And Civil Enforcement Section
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https://www.justice.gov/crt/recent-accomplishments-housing-and-civil-enforcem... ↗

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defendants violated the Housing Rights Subpart of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 (VAWA) when they unlawfully penalized the complainant by evicting her after she sought police assistance for domestic violence. The settlement requires the defendants to comply with VAWA and prohibits them from making adverse credit reports regarding the complainant’s tenancy. If the defendants acquire rental properties during the three-year term of the settlement, they must report those acquisitions to the United States and undergo VAWA training. The defendants must also pay $25,000 to compensate the complainant and her minor children. The case was referred to the Division after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received a complaint, conducted an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination.
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On October 14, 2025, based on a stipulated motion by the parties, the Court entered a permanent injunction in Etienne v. Ferguson/United States v. State of Washington (W.D. Wash.), barring enforcement of Senate Bill 5375 law as applied to information disclosed solely in the Catholic Sacrament of Confession and/or other privileged communications made to members of the clergy or Christian Science practitioners. The law amended Washington’s mandatory reporting law for child abuse and neglect to include Catholic priests as mandatory reporters. This would have required priests to reveal information they hear in Confession, which would result in their automatic excommunication from the Catholic Church. On July 15, 2025, the United States filed a complaint in intervention alleging that the State violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by passing this law.