LA Clippers Owner Agrees to Pay $2.73 Million

Los Angeles Clippers owner and real estate mogul Donald Sterling has agreed to pay a record $2.73 million to settle allegations by the government that he refused to rent apartments to Hispanics, blacks and to families with children, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

The Justice Department sued Sterling in August 2006 for allegations of housing discrimination in the Koreatown area of Los Angeles. Other defendants were Sterling's wife, Rochelle, and the Sterling Family Trust.

The defendants allegedly made statements to employees indicating that African-Americans and Hispanics were not desirable tenants.

Court filings indicated that Sterling rented to fewer blacks and Hispanics in Koreatown than would be expected based on demographics, according to the Justice Department.

In settling the lawsuit, however, the defendants denied any liability.

Robert Platt, an attorney for Sterling and the trust, issued a statement saying his clients denied any acts of discrimination.

"The fair housing attorneys could not identify a single individual who was wrongfully denied the right to rent an apartment," he said. The trust has a zero-tolerance policy regarding housing discrimination, he said.

However, insurers for the trust decided it was cheaper to settle the case than to keep fighting, Platt said. Those insurers will cover the settlement.

Sterling manages 119 apartment buildings with more than 5,000 apartment units in Los Angeles County.

"Housing is a basic human need, and yet decades after passage of the Fair Housing Act, far too many still encounter barriers like discrimination," said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the civil rights division.

"The magnitude of this settlement should send a message to all landlords that we will vigorously pursue violations of the Fair Housing Act," he said.

The settlement, which will be considered by a Los Angeles federal judge, also covers two related lawsuits by former tenants at one of the Sterling properties. In those cases, a black family and an interracial family with children contended that private yards that had been part of their apartment were demolished because of their race, the Justice Department said.