A federal jury has ordered the city of Springfield to pay nearly $300,000 in damages over an attempt to shut down a group home for people with developmental disabilities in 2016.
The jury award stems from a lawsuit brought against the city by the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging that the city violated the Fair Housing Act when it invoked a local ordinance to claim that the home on Noble Avenue was too close to another established home serving individuals with disabilities.
The court ruled against the city back in 2020, and now a federal jury has awarded $162,000 in compensatory damages to the residents of the home and their guardians, and $131,000 in compensatory damages to Individual Advocacy Group, the agency that operates the home. The federal government is also seeking an additional civil penalty and an injunction against the city, but that request is still pending.
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