NEW KENT COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A lawsuit filed regarding the alleged racial discrimination and long-term harassment of a Black child in New Kent County has been settled, according to the Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, Inc. nonprofit.
The lawsuit was filed in the Richmond Federal District Courthouse in late 2022 by the organization and Ge’Andra Johnson of Johnson Legal, PLC. It alleged, among several complaints of race-related discrimination towards a child, that the Putze’s Mobile Home Park in New Kent violated state and federal Fair Housing laws.
Clients Ronald Maybush and his granddaughter — referred to as “K.M.” in all relevant documents — lived in the park during K.M.’s elementary school years, beginning in 2014.
K.M., who has both Black and white heritage, reportedly experienced long-term racial harassment at the hands of residents, park owner Peggy Putze, Putze’s family and some employees beginning in 2019.
Kimberly Hepler is listed in the complaint as an employee of Putze’s Mobile Home Park. According to court documents submitted by Putze and her council, Hepler was never an employee.
According to court documents, some of the experiences listed in the lawsuit include the following:
- Hepler encouraged her dog to attack K.M., telling the dog to “sic” her
- Hepler told K.M. to “take [her] Black ass back into [her] house” while K.M. was playing outside
- Hepler told K.M. she needed to board the school bus last, using a racial slur for Black people and saying they “go last.” Behavior like this continuing resulted in K.M. no longer riding the bus out of fear
- Putze and park employees threatened K.M. physically
- Putze and employees used racial slurs to refer to K.M. when she did things such as play outside, walk to and from the bus stop and ride her bicycle
Ronald Maybush filed a complaint with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in February 2020, according to the lawsuit. In response, the NAACP sent a letter to Putze regarding the allegations.
Shortly after receiving the letter, Putze issued an eviction notice to the Maybush family, saying the Maybush’s dog had “defecated in the common areas” as the reason for the eviction.
The Maybush family then moved out of the park in April 2020 and K.M. was placed into “intensive therapy,” according to the lawsuit.
In documents filed by the defense, Putze and Putze’s Mobile Home Park firmly denied all allegations of discrimination, harassment and retaliation, calling them “intentionally false.”
A settlement is not an admission of guilt. According to court documents, the settlement was the option both parties thought best due to the expenses associated with continued litigation.
“I brought the lawsuit because I wanted my granddaughter to know that she can stand up for herself and her rights,” Ronald Maybush said in the HOME release. “I knew that what happened to my granddaughter was wrong, and I talked to everyone I could.”
According to the settlement, the Maybush family’s counsel received $22,500 from the defendants. A portion of $6,750 will go towards legal fees. The remaining $15,750 will be placed into a trust fund for K.M. — which the HOME release stated will be for her future education.
“We are pleased that this hard-fought case resolved to benefit K.M., and that HOME and our clients have shown that landlords must not tolerate racist slurs, or they will be held accountable,” said a spokesperson for HOME in the release.
