Jonathan Meer (Partner-New York, NY) and Angela Sekerka (Of Counsel-New York, NY), with the assistance of Ileen Younan (Associate-Phoenix, AZ), were successful in defeating a national origin discrimination matter before an Administrative Law Judge. The decision followed an investigation by the Iowa Office of Civil Rights. The Judge, on June 3, 2026, adopted the investigator’s finding that some of the claims of an adverse housing action, such as failing to repair a railing on common stairs, were insufficient, as the alleged maintenance issues impacted all residents regardless of national origin. The finding also noted that all households with unapproved animals in their units during the quarterly inspection, as well as those with unclean units, received written notices. It further noted that Respondents gave written warnings to multiple Caucasian and African American tenants who had guests stay in excess of the 14 days allowed, not just to Complainant.  Finally, the video evidence and testimony of two staffers showed that there was support for Complainant’s receiving a violation for disrupting the peace. Accordingly, it was found that there was insufficient information to show that Respondent’s actions for written notices were a pretext for discrimination.