Sullivan v. Hernandez
United States District Court for the District of Maryland
215 F. Supp. 2d 635 (2002)
Harold and Carla Sullivan (plaintiffs), an African American couple, applied to rent a property just before the listing agent received a competing application from Partha Bagchi; background checks showed Bagchi had a significantly higher salary despite once violating a lease, while the Sullivans had negative credit reports and a prior bankruptcy. The property owners, the Carrolls (defendants), and their agent, Hernandez (defendant), rented to Bagchi instead, and the Sullivans sued for racial discrimination; both sides moved for summary judgment, with the defendants arguing they rejected the Sullivans for the legitimate, non-discriminatory reason of Bagchi's superior finances.
Whether a defendant may avoid liability for housing discrimination based on the fact that the property did not remain available after the plaintiff's application, due to the defendant's acceptance of another application.