Couple Claims Discrimination Based on Marital Status
A case currently situated in the New York State Supreme Court, Manhattan County (trial court) involves a cooperative board's rejection of one member of an unmarried heterosexual couple as he was deemed "not financially qualified" on the one hand, and its approval of the other member of that couple. The coopertive board advised the couple that the rejected member was free to live in the apartment, but would be prohibited from signing the cooperative lease or owning cooperative shares. This couple contended that had they been married, their applications would have been treated jointly, with the pair's financial status considered in total. The couple filed a suit against the coopertive, contending that they had suffered discrimination as a result of their marital status. Altough most of the couple's lawsuit was dismissed this summer, the essential portion related to the different treatment will proceed.
It is expected that this case if allowed to proceed to the court system could impact cooperatives and their abilities to judge and/or exclude unmarried couples, whether heterosexual or not. Interestingly, New York City's administrative code prohibits the denial of housing based on an applicant's marital status, but current law also essentially allows for cooperatives to avoid advising rejected buyers the reasons behind the rejection.
Read a related New York Times article here.
