A federal appeals court heard arguments Tuesday in a potentially landmark case in which a 70-year-old lesbian at a suburban Chicago senior living center says administrators did nothing to stop fellow residents who regularly hurled homophobic slurs at her, spit on her and even struck her because of her sexual orientation.
Marsha Wetzel, who moved into the Glen Saint Andrew Living Community after her partner of 30 years died in 2013, describes how one resident once told her that "homosexuals will burn in hell;" another intentionally rammed her scooter with a walker so hard Wetzel toppled over, bruising her arm, court documents say.
A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case Tuesday, a year after a lower court tossed Wetzel's lawsuit against the facility in Niles. If the appeals court restores the lawsuit, it could help establish that federal Fair Housing Act protections cover LGBT tenants harassed by other tenants.
One panelist, Judge David Hamilton, sounded skeptical that the law — as written — could be stretched to hold administrators liable for tenants' abusive behavior. But Judge Diane Wood suggested it could be, telling the hearing that nobody said administrators "applauded" the abuse as it happened, only that they "shrugged their shoulders" when they learned about it.
Wood and Hamilton were appointed by then-President Bill Clinton. The third judge, Michael Kanne, is a Ronald Reagan-appointee. A ruling is expected within several months.
The trial-level judge overseeing the 2016 lawsuit, Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan, said in his ruling dismissing it a year ago that Wetzel hadn't offered evidence showing that administrators themselves displayed "any discriminatory animus, motive or intent" in how they responded to Wetzel's complaints.
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