Knapp v. Cardwell

Robert Halet applied for an apartment in a complex owned by the Wend Investment Company in Marina del Rey. His application was denied because Wend had an adults-only rental policy and Halet had a child in his household. Halet brought this suit against Wend and Los Angeles County, which leases the land to Wend, charging that the adults-only rental policy violated his right to live with his family and was racially discriminatory. Specifically, he claimed that the County and Wend violated the fourteenth amendment, Civil Rights statutes, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1982, 1983, and 2000d, and the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604. He sought a declaratory judgment that the rental policy was unlawful and an injunction prohibiting such a policy.