Bush v. Kaim

• Decision Date: 05 February 1969
• Docket Number: No. C 69-32.,C 69-32.
• Citation: 297 F. Supp. 151
• Parties: Reginald BUSH, Jr., Rita Mae Bush, and Adrienne Ingrid Bush, Plaintiffs, v. Frank A. KAIM and Carolyn Kaim, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio

297 F. Supp. 151

Reginald BUSH, Jr., Rita Mae Bush, and Adrienne Ingrid Bush, Plaintiffs, v. Frank A. KAIM and Carolyn Kaim, Defendants.

No. C 69-32.

United States District Court N. D. Ohio, E. D.

February 5, 1969.

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COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Byron S. Krantz, Samuel S. Perry and Carl J. Character, Cleveland, Ohio, for plaintiffs.

Paul P. Chalko, Cleveland, Ohio, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

LAMBROS, District Judge:

This is a civil action arising under the Civil Rights Act of 1866, Title 42, U.S. C.A. § 1982. The Court has heretofore granted a temporary restraining order against the defendants and has conducted an evidentiary hearing on the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction. Upon the evidence adduced at that hearing, the Court makes the following determination:

The plaintiffs, Reginald Bush, Jr., and Rita Mae Bush, are husband and wife; they are negroes; they have a four-month old daughter, Adrienne Bush.

Mr. Bush has recently been employed by the Mead-Johnson Laboratories as a medical sales representative. In connection with this employment, he was required to relocate in or near Cleveland, Ohio.

In order to secure suitable housing for himself and his family, he came to Cleveland on or about October 21, 1968. A friend suggested to him that if he were looking for a place to live, he should contact "Operation Equality."

"Operation Equality" is a non-profit corporation which attempts to help minority groups find adequate housing. It is staffed largely by volunteer workers. It is financed by foundation grants and other charitable contributions and operates in the areas of both sales and rentals.

Mr. Bush contacted Operation Equality. He was interested primarily in renting a house, and the organization could not provide him with a suitable rental at that time.

On or about November 5, 1968, Mr. Bush returned to Cleveland, again seeking housing. He contacted Operation Equality, but secured no good leads.

He then began looking in the newspapers for rental housing. In the Cleveland Plain Dealer edition of Saturday, November 9, 1968, Mr. Bush noticed the following advertisement: "Eastlake ranch, 2-bedrm, carpeted living rm, attached garage; spotless, $150. Reference 261-2820."

A similar advertisement appeared in the Sunday edition of the Plain Dealer. In the Plain Dealer edition for Monday, November 11, 1968, an advertisement appeared, which was identical with the others, except that the price asked had been reduced to $140.00.

The defendants, Frank A. Kaim and Carolyn Kaim, are the owners of the property which was advertised as indicated above in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. This property is a single-family house located at 813 Stevens Blvd. in Eastlake, Ohio. This is the only rental property owned by these defendants. Mr. Kaim is a real estate agent and is experienced in the rental and sale of real property.

Mr. Bush called the number indicated in the advertisement at about 6:00 p. m. on the evening of Saturday, November 9th. He spoke with Carolyn Kaim. He asked to come out and view the property. Arrangements were made for him to come out that evening. Mrs. Kaim gave him directions to reach the property.

Bush arrived at about 8:30 that evening. Mr. Kaim met him at the door and showed him through the house. During the course of this tour and after they had been through a few rooms, Mr. Kaim told Bush that he had been showing the house to a number of other people and had received part of a rental deposit from a man to whom he had shown the house that day. Kaim also stated that he had not yet had time to tell his wife about this deposit, but that he was fairly certain the people who gave him the deposit would rent the house. Bush asked Kaim to call him the next day and let him know if the house had been taken. Although Mr. Kaim agreed to call the plaintiff, he never did so.

During the course of the meeting between Kaim and Bush, Kaim asked Mr. Bush whom he worked for, and Bush told him. Mr. Kaim did not ask the size of Mr. Bush's family; he did not ask him his age; he did not ask for credit references; and he did not request Mr. Bush to fill out a rental application.

Mr. Bush became suspicious as a result of his meeting with Mr. Kaim. He called a Mrs. Talbot, who works for Operation Equality and told her what had occurred. He asked her to verify whether the house was in fact rented. She referred him to Mrs. Catherine Worley, a part-time employee of Operation Equality. Arrangements were made whereby Bush and Mrs. Worley would go out to the house on Monday to see if Bush could rent it. If they were unsuccessful, another Operation Equality volunteer would then appear at the house and attempt to rent it.

Although Mr. Bush testified that he made these arrangements "through" Mrs. Worley and that he directed the operation, it appears that these arrangements were worked out jointly by him and Mrs. Worley, and that Mrs. Worley actually contacted the other Operation Equality volunteer and organized the subsequent proceedings.

Mrs. Worley called Mrs. Joan M. Maguire, another Operation Equality volunteer. Mrs. Worley then went to the motel at which Mr. Bush was staying and picked up $50.00 in cash to be used as a deposit on the house. She kept the cash and dropped a $50.00 check drawn on Operation Equality at Mrs. Maguire's home.

She had previously, in a phone conversation, instructed Mrs. Maguire to make an appointment to rent the house the following day. Mrs. Worley, Mrs. Maguire, and Mrs. Maguire's husband are white.

On Monday morning, Mrs. Worley called Mrs. Kaim sometime between 11:00 and 12:00 a. m. Mrs. Worley asked if the house was still available for rent. Mrs. Kaim said it was. She made an appointment to come out and view the house.

Mrs. Maguire also called up and asked if the house was for rent. The woman who answered the phone stated that it was. She then made an appointment to come out and view the house.

Mrs. Worley and Mr. Bush drove out to the house on Monday afternoon. They arrived at about 1:30. Mrs. Roland, who was at that time a tenant in the house, opened the door and allowed them to enter. Soon after, Mrs. Kaim arrived.

There is a dispute over the content of the conversation that took place at the house. The Court concludes that the conversation was essentially as follows:

Mr. Bush introduced himself and Mrs. Worley. He stated that he had come to rent the house. Mrs. Kaim told him that a number of other applications were pending for the property and that the Kaims weren't sure whether there was a deal or not. Mrs. Worley stated that Mrs. Kaim had told her over the phone that the property was still available. Mrs. Kaim answered that she was still taking all applications from persons interested in the property. Mrs. Worley asked why she had not taken an application from Mr. Bush. Mrs. Kaim said that no application from Mr. Bush was necessary, since she already had his name and phone number and could contact him.

To summarize this conversation, Mrs. Kaim declined to rent the property to Mr. Bush at that time. Mrs. Worley and Mr. Bush, unsuccessful in their attempt to rent the house, then left. They drove to the corner of the block, parked the car, and waited.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Maguire drove around the corner and proceeded to the Kaim house. She waved to Mrs. Worley and Mr. Bush as she drove by.

Mrs. Maguire was in the house for ten to fifteen minutes. Mrs. Kaim showed Mrs. Maguire around the house. Mrs. Kaim asked where Mrs. Maguire's husband worked. Mrs. Maguire told her that he worked at the Special Electric Company. Mrs. Kaim wrote this information down together with Mrs. Maguire's name. In the course of this conversation, Mrs. Maguire also told Mrs. Kaim that she had one child. Actually, she has five children.

According to Mrs. Kaim, she asked Mrs. Maguire where her checking and savings accounts were and also asked about her credit. According to Mrs. Maguire's testimony, she was not asked any questions on these subjects.

Mrs. Maguire asked if the house had been rented, and Mrs. Kaim replied that it had not. Mrs. Kaim asked Mrs. Maguire if she wanted to rent the house. Mrs. Maguire said yes. Mrs. Maguire asked Mrs. Kaim if she would accept $50.00 as deposit, and Mrs. Kaim said yes. Mrs. Maguire gave Mrs. Kaim her personal check for $50.00 which Mrs. Kaim accepted.

Mrs. Maguire then left the house, met Mrs. Worley and Mr. Bush and proceeded to the Shoregate Shopping Center, where they discussed what had happened.

The next night, Tuesday, November 12, 1968, Mrs. Maguire and her husband, Kevin Maguire, went out to the property at 813 Stevens. They met with Mr. & Mrs. Kaim. Mr. Kaim showed Mr. Maguire through the house. The Kaims and the Maguires then went into the kitchen and filled out a "Rental Application and Agreement." This was plaintiffs' exhibit 2 at the hearing. Mr. Kaim asked Mr. Maguire for a $140.00 security deposit in connection with the lease. Maguire gave Kaim $90.00 in the form of a personal check. Mr. Maguire had previously received money ($90.00) from Operation Equality to reimburse him for this payment. The $90.00, together with the $50.00 deposit which Mrs. Maguire had previously given, constituted the $140.00 security deposit, which was accepted by the Kaims.

The Kaims and the Maguires both executed the so-called "Rental Application and Agreement," which is actually a lease for the premises. Two provisions of this agreement are relevant here. Paragraph 5 provides:

"The within premises are hereby rented for a period of 12 months, commencing December 1, 1968, and this agreement shall automatically renew itself thereafter, running continuously for like periods, unless tenants shall give to the landlord not less than 30 days' written notice, prior to the expiration of the term then running, of tenants' intention to terminate said tenancy at the expiration of the then existing term, or unless the

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