Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling will pay $2.725 million to the U.S. Department of Justice to settle a lawsuit that alleged racial discrimination in apartment rentals.
The lawsuit, originally filed in August 2006, alleged that Sterling discriminated against African-Americans, Hispanics and families with children at apartment buildings he controls in the Koreatown section of Los Angeles.
Sterling's wife, Rochelle, and the Sterling Family Trust were also named as defendants in the suit. Sterling owns and manages 119 apartment buildings comprising over 5,000 apartments in Los Angeles County.
According to a statement from the Justice Department, the payment is "largest monetary payment ever obtained by the department in the settlement of a case alleging housing discrimination in the rental of apartments."
The $2.725 million penalty breaks down to a $100,000 civil fine and the other $2.625 million will be paid to a fund that will pay monetary damages to those "who were harmed by the defendants’ discriminatory practices."
The terms of the distribution of the $2.625 million will be determined in a separate disbursement order.
The settlement must be approved by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer.
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