Drexelbrook owner must pay ex-tenant $13G

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) has ordered the owner of the Drexelbrook apartment community to pay $13,300 to a former tenant, ruling her lease was terminated as retaliation for filing a sexual harassment claim against him.

L. William Kay II, general partner of Drexelbrook Associates, notified Ingrid Dotson Luderman that her lease would not be renewed in April 2006, just three months after a settlement was reached in the sexual harassment case.

"The case was never about money. It was about vindicating her rights and I think that was done," said Dotson Luderman's attorney, Carole D. Green.

A longtime Spanish teacher at Upper Darby High School, Dotson Luderman had lived in the Drexel Hill apartment community for 11 years without incident before she was ousted.

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She filed the sexual harassment claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in July 2003, 10 months after she stopped working as a part-time bartender for LWK Corp., Drexelbrook's banquet and catering operation, which Kay also owns and operates.

In her testimony before the PHRC, Dotson Luderman claimed Kay appeared "angry and upset and both glared and frowned" at her during a January 2006 settlement conference for the federal suit, leading her to speculate he might try to terminate her lease.

The notice came three months later with no explanation attached.

The commission gave no credibility to Kay's shocking claim that Dotson Luderman made an unannounced visit to his office and propositioned him for sex approximately five weeks before the lease termination notice went out.

"Kay, who is now 84 years old, testified that (Dotson Luderman), a young woman, for no apparent reason, came to his office, introduced herself, and almost immediately tells Kay she would like to have sex with him," PHRC hearing examiner Carl H. Summerson wrote in his opinion, adding that Kay could not recall anything specific that was said during the alleged encounter.

"We find that he could not recall for the simple reason that there had been no such visit and (Dotson Luderman) never made such an overture," Summerson wrote.

Now 49 and residing in Radnor, Dotson Luderman flatly denied ever visiting Kay's office and Greene called it "an outrageous allegation."

The award represents Dotson Luderman's out-of-pocket expenditures following her forced relocation, including the $7,155 in higher rent she paid in the 27 months after leaving Drexelbrook and $2,475 for the extra 4,950 miles she had to drive to and from work. Another $1,000 was awarded for moving expenses and the cost of cleaning out the Drexelbrook apartment.

"It is crucial that people know their rights are protected if they speak or act against illegal discrimination," PHRC Chairman Gerry Robinson said in a prepared statement. "Landlords need to know they cannot legally punish a tenant for making an allegation."

Appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate, the 11-member commission receives about 4,000 complaints a year, according to PHRC spokeswoman Shannon Powers. "Only a tiny portion, perhaps a dozen, make it to the public hearing phase," she said. "We are required by law to make every effort to settle the case."

Kay has 30 days to reply to the order, which took effect July 25.

"If they fail to comply with the order, we would petition the Commonwealth Court to enforce it." Powers said.

Kay's attorney, Mark Halpern, could not be reached for comment.

Kay purchased Drexelbrook, a 1,233-unit apartment complex that was once home to the likes of Dick Clark, Ed McMahon and Lee Iacocca, in 1959.