Kramarsky v. Stahl Management

Judith Pierce, a divorced Black woman, was denied an apartment by Stahl Management (defendant), which instead rented to a white applicant. Pierce alleged racial discrimination, and Kramarsky, a state human rights commissioner, brought this suit on her behalf. Stahl responded that Pierce was rejected not for race or marital status but because her application disclosed she was an attorney, a profession Stahl believed would make her a troublesome tenant, and pointed to evidence that many units in the building were rented to Black tenants and to single people. Kramarsky sought a temporary restraining order preventing Stahl from renting the unit to anyone else pending administrative proceedings.