Annapolis reaches tentative $15 million settlement in housing discrimination lawsuits

The city of Annapolis reached a tentative $15 million settlement in two long-running housing discrimination lawsuits that stem from decades of complaints about substandard conditions at buildings owned and managed by the city’s housing authority, officials announced Friday.

“The settlement is a first step on our path to ensuring improved housing conditions for our residents, and I’m proud of the City’s work on that front,” Mayor Jared Littmann said in a statement.

If approved, the settlement would bring to a close a yearslong saga that has dominated local politics. A little over five years ago, the city settled a case in which residents complained that officials allowed mold and other health and safety issues to persist in housing authority properties by exempting them from inspections.

After that settlement, attorneys filed an identical claim on behalf of two more residents — a claim that ballooned into the class-action settlement announced today.

The city’s insurance coverage will pay $5 million of the settlement, and another $10 million will come out of city funds.

In an email, city spokesperson Mitchelle Stephenson said it was still to be determined what part of the city budget that payout would come from, or whether it would need to be appropriated for in the fiscal year 2027 budget.

Alderman Harry Huntley, who is chair of the City Council Finance Committee, said his first thought when he heard about the settlement was, “That’s a lot of sidewalks.”

But, Huntley added, “We always knew it was going to be a lot of money.”

“We can all Monday morning quarterback,” he said. “I trust Jared [Littmann] made what was the best decision for the city.”

Alderman Rob Savidge said he was concerned about the $10 million cost and by how long the city would have to make the payment.

“We’re in the middle of our budget. It’s basically dropping a bomb in the middle of the budget process,” Savidge said.

Joseph Donahue, one of the attorneys representing the residents, said the settlement “vindicates the rights of those tenants who resided in public housing during the time when the City refused to inspect or license their homes.”

“Mayor Jared Littmann deserves credit for helping to close this chapter and move the City forward,” he wrote in an email.

The settlement applies to two lawsuits. One is a class action representing more than 1,400 residents of public housing in Annapolis. The other was brought by representatives of a public housing resident who died.

Melissa Maddox-Evans, CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis, said the agency did not have “sufficient information or authority to comment” on the settlement.

The agreement must be approved by a judge. Officials said there are additional conditions that must be resolved before the framework is submitted for approval.

Stephenson said in an email the city could not release any further details about the terms that still need to be worked out.

Annapolis moved toward settlement in mid-December, shortly after Littmann was sworn in as mayor. Going to trial was seen as a risky move for the city, which could have been on the hook for hundreds of millions.

Former Mayor Gavin Buckley, who’s running in the Democratic primary for a seat on the Anne Arundel County Council, previously said he wanted to fight this lawsuit.

Buckley did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.