Property Law Keyed to Cribbet
Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp
ProfessorTodd Berman
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
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- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
- Topic: Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.
- Parties: Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.
- Procedural Posture & History: Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.
- Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.: A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.
- Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises: Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
- Brief Facts: A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.
- Rule of Law: Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.
- Facts: What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case. Review the Facts of this case here:
Respondent applied to Petitioner for rezoning of a 15 acre parcel from single-family residential to multi-family residential, intending to build federally subsidized low to moderate income housing. The request was denied and Respondent sued for injunctive and declaratory relief, claiming that the effect of the denial of rezoning was discriminatory in nature and thus violative of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C. Section:3601, et. seq. Arlington Heights is a suburb of Chicago, which is predominately white (the 1970 census showed that only 27 of the city’s 64,000 residents were black). The city is mostly zoned for single-family detached housing. The Clerics of St. Viator (the Order) owns an 80-acre parcel of land surrounded by single-family housing. In 1970, the Order decided to devote some of its land to low and moderate income housing, and found that the most expedient way to accomplish this goal was to work through a nonprofit developer experienced in federal housing subsidies under Section:236 of the National Housing Act, 12 U.S.C. Section:1715z-1. The sale was contingent on Respondent’s securing of zoning clearances from the Petitioner and Section:236 housing assistance from the government. Respondent hired an architect and began the project, which was to be known as Lincoln Green, and was to include 20 two-story buildings with a total of 190 units. Respondent filed a petition for rezoning with the Village Plan Commission along with materials regarding the proposal, including the requirement under Section:236 that an affirmative marketing plan be designed to assure that a subsidized development is racially integrated. The Commission held three public hearings after which it recommended to the Petitioner’s Board of Trustees that the application of Respondent be denied due to the fact that the Commission felt that low income housing would be unsuitable in the proposed location. The Board of Trustees then denied the rezoning application. Then, Respondent f iled suit against the Petitioner, seeking injunctive and declaratory relief. The federal district court found for the Petitioner, but the court of appeals reversed and found for Respondent. The Petitioner appealed.
- Issue(s): Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.
- Holding: Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.
- Concurring / Dissenting Opinions: Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.
- Reasoning and Analysis: Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
- Policy: Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.
- Court Direction: Shares where the Court went from here for this case.