| Court: | WI Court of Appeals |
| Facts: | Two women decline to take in a third as a roommate on the basis of sexual preference. |
| Posture: | MEOC finds them in validation of Madison housing ordinances, after
the woman files a complaint. They award $2,000 for emotional
distress, $1,000 for punitive, and a $300 security deposit.
On appeal, the MEOC vacates the order, saying that the city council intended to exempt roomates from this standard. So Sprague (the woman in questoin) petitions the court. The court says MEOC had jurisdiction to provide her with relief and remanded the case back to MEOC, who reheard and got rid of the punitives, but upped the emotional distress to $3,000, so the award remains $3,000 plus cost and attorney's fees. Appeal. |
| Issue: | Does the ordinance apply to this situation? |
| Holding: | Yes. |
| Rule: | The ordinance governs businesses, and renting for profit is a business. |
| Reasoning: | This isn't an unreasonable restriction. |
| Dicta: | |