A Hilo couple filed a housing discrimination suit against Haili Congregational Church and the church’s rental property manager, claiming they were discriminated against, harassed and forced to move from an apartment building owned by the church because they weren’t married.
A Hilo couple filed a housing discrimination suit against Haili Congregational Church and the church’s rental property manager, claiming they were discriminated against, harassed and forced to move from an apartment building owned by the church because they weren’t married.
The civil lawsuit was filed July 6 in Hilo Circuit Court on behalf of Sandra Bonk and Earling Namahoe by Reyna Ramolete Hayashi, a Legal Aid Society of Hawaii attorney, and Christopher Brancart, a California lawyer whose firm specializes is housing discrimination cases.
The suit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and costs, and also to prohibit the historic Hilo church from continuing rental practices the suit alleges are discriminatory and illegal.
According to the complaint, the 65-year-old Bonk and 60-year-old Namahoe were living in separate units in the Haili Apartments at 150 Ululani St. — not to be confused with the Haili Elderly Apartments, a public complex — when they met and became romantically involved. The suit states by the end of 2009, Namahoe, who lived with his elderly mother, “often stayed overnight at Bonk’s apartment as her guest.”
Lorna Bufil, who also is named as a defendant, was hired as the building’s resident manager in 2011, and according to the suit, “targeted Bonk and Namahoe for harassment based on their marital status.”
“Bufil instructed Bonk that Namahoe was not allowed to stay overnight in Bonk’s apartment,” the suit states. “Bufil also criticized Bonk’s relationship with Namahoe in front of other residents and threatened to evict Bonk if Namahoe visited her home over night.”
According to the filing, Bufil delivered revised house rules to Bonk on Dec. 9, 2011, including one stating, “No unmarried couples will be allowed to inhabit the same apartment.”
Bufil also allegedly delivered a memorandum to Bonk on Feb. 14, 2012, stating, in part, “Our rules clearly state … that no unmarried couples or ‘sleepovers’ are allowed without permission by the apartment manager. Anyone who is NOT on your lease agreement is not allowed to sleepover (girlfriend, boyfriend, or relatives). I am not here to monitor your every move and know that we are all adults. If you don’t abide by the rules, please know that it will result in termination of your rental agreement and eviction. This has been discussed with the Board of Trustees.”
Namahoe, fearing eviction, stopped visiting Bonk’s apartment at night, but Bufil continued to threaten Bonk with eviction, the suit states.
It also alleges Bufil called police in March 2012 “falsely reporting that Bonk and Namahoe created a public disturbance by speaking with each other outside their apartments.”
The complaint states Bonk and Namahoe vacated the Haili Apartments in August 2012 and rented a home in Hilo, where they’ve lived together as a couple since.
The suit claims the “defendants’ discriminatory and unlawful housing practices” caused Bonk and Namahoe to suffer “economic losses, inconvenience, anxiety, embarrassment, humiliation and other emotional distress, violation of their civil rights, violation of their privacy, loss of important housing opportunities … and breach of their quiet enjoyment.”
Also claimed is “constructive eviction” — a legal term that means the landlords’ actions were intended to pressure the tenants into vacating the property.
Hayashi said Monday she couldn’t speak without her clients’ permission.
Bufil, who identified herself as a member of the church’s nine-member Board of Trustees, said in a Monday email neither she nor the church have been served with the complaint, but denied its allegations.
She wrote the church “is committed to serving the community and will continue to do so despite these allegations.”
“While it is unfortunate that Ms. Bonk and Mr. Namahoe have elected to pursue a court action, I can assure you that Haili church and I will vigorously defend ourselves in this action,” Bufil wrote. “Ms. Bonk was a tenant of Haili Apartments and had issues with other tenants; out of respect for Mr. Namahoe’s privacy, we will refrain from identifying the specific instances and conduct. Ms. Bonk was never subjected to any adverse action because of her marital status.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.