US v. Billingsley, No. 09-40734
US v. Billingsley, No. 09-40734, concerned an action for violation of the Fair Housing Act claiming the wrongful enforcement of restrictive covenants. The court vacated a preliminary injunction in favor of plaintiff, holding that the Anti-Injunction Act was applicable in this case and the government could not avail itself of the exception for the U.S. when it sought an injunction because of 42 U.S.C. section 3612's explicit limitations on the remedial powers of the federal courts.
As the court wrote: "This case involves a dispute between, on the one hand, a married couple
who own and occupy a home in Air Park subdivision ("the Picks") and, on the other hand, that subdivision's zoning and covenants compliance authority, viz., the Air Park - Dallas Zoning Committee, as well as its four members, Air Park GP, L.L.C., and Crow-Billingsley Air Park, Ltd. (collectively, "the Committee") over a footbridge that the Picks installed on their property in violation of restrictive covenants. The Committee sought to enforce the covenants in state court, and the Picks filed a Fair Housing Act ("FHA") counterclaim. The parties settled the lawsuit, but subsequently disagreed whether the settlement agreement required the Picks to remove the footbridge. The Committee sought to enforce the settlement agreement in the state court proceedings. After interpreting the settlement agreement in favor of the Committee, the state court mandated that the Picks remove the footbridge, which they have continually refused to do."
Related Resources
- Full Text of US v. Billingsley, No. 09-40734