West v. DJ Mortg., LLC

• Decision Date: 14 September 2017
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:15–CV–397–AT
• Citation: 271 F.Supp.3d 1336
• Parties: Kayla WEST, Plaintiff, v. DJ MORTGAGE, LLC, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia

271 F.Supp.3d 1336

Kayla WEST, Plaintiff,

v.DJ MORTGAGE, LLC, Defendant.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:15–CV–397–AT

United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division.

Signed September 14, 2017

Jesse M. Centrella, Rebecca Houlding, Giselle Brianceschi Schuetz, Friedman & Houlding, LLP, Janet Elizabeth Hill, Hill & Associates, P.C., Kristine Orr Brown, Orr, Brown & Billips, LLP, for Plaintiff.

John Anthony Christy, Andrew John Lavoie, Schreeder Wheeler & Flint, LLP, for Defendant.

ORDER

Amy Totenberg, United States District JudgeIn this lawsuit, Plaintiff Kayla West, a former tenant at one of Defendant DJ Mortgage, LLC's ("DJ Mortgage") properties, claims that Defendant's property manager sexually assaulted and harassed her over several months. She sued DJ Mortgage under the Fair Housing Act of 1968 ("FHA") as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 3601, et seq. , and also under Georgia's negligence doctrine. Previously, the Court denied Defendant's motion to dismiss this case for failure to state a claim. (Doc. 17). West v. DJ Mortgage, LLC , 164 F.Supp.3d 1393 (N.D. Ga. 2016).

This case is now before the Court on DJ Mortgage's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 39). DJ Mortgage argues that Ms. West cannot prevail on either of her two FHA claims, and therefore the Court should decline jurisdiction over her remaining state-law claim. The Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART the motion for the reasons set forth below.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The following summary of the facts is provided solely for context and does not represent factual findings by the Court. The Court notes where some of the facts below are in dispute. And as required at summary judgment, the Court sets forth the facts in the light most favorable to Ms. West, the non-moving party.

A. Ms. West's Interactions with Mr. Andrews

In the summer of 2013, Ms. West was searching for homes to rent in Conyers and Decatur, Georgia so that she could be closer to her workplace. ("West Depo.," Docs. 42–1, 42–2, and 42–3 at 45, 86–87.) Ms. West was also looking for a home that could accommodate her and her four children. (Id. at 12–15, 129.) She spotted an ad on Craigslist for a rental home located at 198 Old Mill Way S.W., Conyers, Georgia ("the Property"), which was owned by DJ Mortgage. (Id. at 93; "Thompson Depo.," Doc. 44–1 at 166.) Ms. West responded to the ad by sending an email through Craigslist and also by calling the phone number included in the ad. (West Depo. at 93.) She left a voice message at this phone number expressing interest in the Property, and she provided her cell phone number for someone to call her back. (Id. at 94–95.) Gene Andrews called her back and said he had received her message. (Id. at 95.) Mr. Andrews told Ms. West what the amount of rent was, that a lot of people were interested in the home, and that he would get back to her in a couple of days. (Id. at 94.) Mr. Andrews was employed as the property and/or leasing manager for all of DJ Mortgage's properties, which totaled approximately eighty rental properties in Georgia. ("Smithgall Depo.," Doc. 46–1 at 27, 38; Thompson Depo. at 9; West Depo. at 103.)

Several days after the first phone call, Mr. Andrews called Ms. West about the Property. He reiterated that a lot of people were still interested in it, but he said that he could rent it to her if she paid a deposit and filled out an application. He told her to meet him at South DeKalb Mall so she could pay the deposit and fill out the application. (West Depo. at 97–98, 111.)

On August 8, 2013, Ms. West met Mr. Andrews in the parking lot of the South DeKalb Mall. Ms. West had her three youngest children in the car with her. She walked over to Mr. Andrews's car, he handed her a blank application form, and she went back to her car to fill it out. She then gave the completed application to Mr. Andrews along with approximately $1,700 as a deposit. During this exchange, Mr. Andrews described the Property to Ms. West in more detail. He explained that he worked for DJ Mortgage, that he was the property manager, and that she should contact him if she needed anything related to the Property. He also told her that he would be in touch again so she could sign the lease, provide paycheck stubs, and get the keys to the Property. (Id. at 110–115.)

On August 9th, Mr. Andrews called Ms. West to schedule a meeting the following day, August 10th, at the Property. He laid out the next steps for the rental to occur during their meeting: Ms. West needed to bring her paycheck stubs, sign the lease, and sign the lead paint form, and Mr. Andrews would then give her the keys. He also told Ms. West something to the effect of "I'm going to need you to give me a hug." Ms. West did not reply to this statement but simply said "thank you" and hung up the phone. She told her boyfriend, Quovadas Pete Foster, about Mr. Andrews's comment to her about needing a hug. (Id. at 115–116, 118–121.)

Mr. Andrews called Ms. West on August 10th and asked if she could meet him on Columbia Drive in Decatur instead of at the Property since he had a meeting across town. They agreed to meet in the parking lot of a restaurant on Columbia Drive. She drove with two of her children to the parking lot, and Mr. Andrews came up to her car. He asked her to get in his car to review and sign the remaining paperwork. She went to his car and sat in the passenger side while he sat in the driver's side. He reviewed the lease with her, she signed the lease, he handed her the keys to the Property, and then he told her to read over the lead paint form and sign it. As Ms. West finished signing the lead paint form, Mr. Andrews reached over and raised her skirt and grabbed her vagina. She slapped his hand, left the signed paperwork on the dashboard, and got out of his car and slammed the car door. Mr. Andrews said nothing during this exchange and drove off. When Ms. West returned to her car, her daughters asked her what was wrong. She told them what had happened. She also called Mr. Foster and told him what happened. (Id. at 121–29, 137.)

Ms. West and her children moved into the Property on August 11th. When moving in, Ms. West noticed that the air conditioning unit was not working and she called Mr. Andrews about getting it fixed. During the call, Mr. Andrews abruptly told Ms. West that she had a "beautiful skin tone." He then asked if she had a boyfriend, and she replied that she did. He asked how long she had been with her boyfriend, and she said, "Long enough." DJ Mortgage's records show that the air conditioning unit was repaired the following day, August 12th. (Id. at 144, 155–56; "QuickBooks," Doc. 47–22 at 2.)

Less than two weeks later, the door to Ms. West's bedroom came off its hinges. She texted Mr. Andrews about it on August 23rd and told him that the screws holding the hinges in place were stripped. Mr. Andrews responded, "Okay." (West Depo. at 147, 151.)¹ Four days passed and no one had come to fix the door. ( Id. at 151.) On August 27th, Ms. West texted Mr. Andrews again to tell him that no one had fixed her door. Over text, Mr. Andrews said he would call the repairman, and he followed up to say that the repairman would be at the Property at 9 A.M. He then asked, "Maybe I can take you to lunch are [sic] breakfast soon?" ("Texts," Doc. 47–11 at 2–3.) Ms. West did not respond to this text. The door was fixed shortly afterward. (West Depo. at 151–52.)

On August 29th, Ms. West texted Mr. Andrews about additional problems she was experiencing with the Property that needed repair. (Texts at 3; West Depo. at 153–54.) She mentioned a burst pipe, a dishwasher and a refrigerator in need of repair, and moldy carpet. (West Depo. at 160–63; "Pl.'s Interrogatory Responses," Doc. 47–28 at 16.)² Mr. Andrews responded by calling Ms. West. They discussed the issues needing repair, and Mr. Andrews said he would look into getting another refrigerator for her. He then asked if she had given any thought to going out with him. Ms. West replied, "No. I have a boyfriend." (West Depo. at 161–63.)

Two days later, on August 31st, a repairman came to the Property. According to DJ Mortgage's invoices, the repairman "check[ed] [the] leak behind [the] washroom wall." ("Invoices," Doc. 47–21.) He replaced the "wash box and busted pipes," "cut sheet rock" and replaced it, and painted. (Id. ) DJ Mortgage's invoices do not show that the repairman fixed or replaced the refrigerator or the moldy carpet. (See id. )

Around this time, Mr. Andrews told Ms. West she should leave a key for him in case he needed to access the Property. Ms. West never left a key for Mr. Andrews during her stay at the Property because she felt threatened by his sexual advances towards her. ("West Declaration," Doc. 47–20 ¶ 4.)

On September 11th, Ms. West texted Mr. Andrews again to complain about the unfixed problems.³ (West Depo. at 166–67.)

She spoke with Mr. Andrews on the phone that same day about these issues. (Id. at 166.) Around two days later, a repairman came to the Property and replaced her refrigerator with a used refrigerator. Additionally, the repairman removed a portion of the wet carpet and replaced a leaking drain pipe and shut off the valve. (Invoices, Doc. 47–21 at 4.)

On September 14th, Ms. West texted Mr. Andrews about mites in her carpet that were biting her and her children.⁴ Mr. Andrews responded by calling Ms. West. He questioned her assessment of the situation by asking how she knew the problem was mites and asking if she had dogs. (West Depo. at 168–69.)

About a week later, the mite-infested carpet at the Property was replaced. (West Depo. at 170.) On September 21st, Ms. West texted Mr. Andrews to thank him. (Id. ) Mr. Andrews responded via text, "You [sic] welcome. Maybe I can come get my pic[.]" (Texts at 4.) This was not the first time Mr. Andrews had asked Ms. West for a "pic." During prior telephone conversations, he had asked her to send him "nude" and "naked" pictures. He had asked questions over the phone such as "When can I come by and get that...