JustASC

Condo association, and appeals court, gone wild:

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Fair Housing Act does not protect the right of condominium owners to display a mezuzah on their door frames.

ABA Journal explains that a condo regulation in a Chicago building called Shoreline Towers “barred signs, shoes and other objects outside residents’ doors.” The owner of 3 condos sued ”after building managers took down the plaintiffs’ mezuzot inscribed with Hebrew verses.”

The majority opinion by Judge Frank Easterbrook [of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals] said the regulation was content neutral. “It bans photos of family vacations, political placards, for-sale notices and Chicago Bears pennants.”

Dissenting Judge Diane Wood said the rule operated as a constructive eviction of observant Jewish residents.

The O.U. has weighed in, saying that

to ban a Jewish tenant from affixing a mezuzah ought to be viewed as a constructive eviction from their home and thus illegal under the Fair Housing Act.

FYI, the condo ruling is no longer in effect.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 11th, 2008 at 8:30 am and is filed under JustASC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.