United States v. Kailua Village Condominium Association
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii · federal · United States District Court for the District of Hawaii
HOA loss · fair-housing
What happened
HUD investigated a disability-discrimination complaint about a Kailua-Kona condominium unit sale involving a buyer with paraplegia, issued a charge, and referred the matter. The United States sued August 19, 2024, naming the association, board members, property managers, sellers, and selling agents (including Jacqueline Frame and Kona Now LLC, among others), alleging refusal to sell, discriminatory terms/statements, refusal of reasonable accommodations/modifications, and harassment. On October 11, 2024, a partial consent order with all defendants except Frame and Kona Now required $112,500 in damages to the complainant, training, RA/RM policy adoption, and four-year reporting. On January 29, 2025, a final consent order required Frame and Kona Now to pay $50,000 and obtain fair-housing training.
What the court (or agency) held
Defendants lost via staged consent orders (no trial verdict). Combined monetary relief to the complainant totaled $162,500 across partial and final consent orders, plus injunctive policy, training, and monitoring obligations for settling association/management/seller-side defendants.
Why this matters for members
FHA disability duties apply to condo sales and HOA approval processes—not only post-closing rule enforcement. Sellers, agents, boards, and managers can all be named; partial settlements may leave holdout defendants to a later consent order with additional damages.
What the member did
Filed a HUD housing-discrimination complaint that led to a charge and DOJ enforcement/consent orders.
Questions for the board
- What written RA/RM policies apply to sales, applications, and modification requests?
- Who communicates with buyers about disability-related requests, and is fair-housing training current?
- Are transfer/approval decisions documented with nondiscriminatory reasons?
- How are harassment complaints involving board members or agents handled?
Questions for a lawyer
- Which defendants remain bound by which consent-order terms and for how long?
- How should a disability-related blocked condo purchase be preserved for HUD/DOJ referral?
- What damages and injunctive packages did the partial vs final orders require?
- What exposure do selling agents and LLC sellers have alongside the association?
Citation
United States v. Kailua Village Condominium Association, Civil No. 24-cv-00353 (D. Haw.); partial consent order Oct. 11, 2024; final consent order Jan. 29, 2025 (2025-01-29). United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. Outcome chip: AG/consent. Source: https://www.justice.gov/crt/case/united-states-v-kailua-village-condominium-association-et-al-d-haw
_General information, not legal advice. Outcomes turn on facts and current law._
General information, not legal advice. Outcomes turn on facts and current law.