Class Action
Louis v. SafeRent
Louis, et al. v. SafeRent Solutions, LLC, et al.
Where it stands
Final approval entered November 20, 2024. Total $2.275 million, of which up to $1.175 million goes to the class, $1.1 million to attorneys' fees, and $10,000 service awards per named plaintiff. A state consumer protection claim was dismissed at summary judgment.
Key ruling
Five-year injunctive relief: SafeRent must stop issuing automated approve/decline recommendations for housing-voucher applicants unless independent fair-housing experts validate the model for fairness, and must otherwise supply underlying background data only, plus train landlord clients on the model's limitations. This is the leading U.S. settlement addressing algorithmic tenant screening.
Note on this record
Counsel list is partially verified; named individual attorneys include Christine E. Webber, Brian C. Corman, Stuart T. Rossman and Todd S. Kaplan.The record
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- Case number
- 1:22-cv-10800
- Filed
- 2022-05-25
- Defendants
- SafeRent Solutions, LLC · Metropolitan Management Group, LLC
- Plaintiffs
- Two settlement classes of Black and Hispanic rental applicants who used housing choice vouchers and received a SafeRent score-based denial
- Technology at issue
- SafeRent 'Registry ScorePLUS' tenant-screening algorithm producing a 200–800 applicant score used by landlords for automated approve/decline recommendations
- Relief sought
- Damages and injunctive relief under the federal Fair Housing Act (disparate impact) and Massachusetts civil rights and consumer protection law, on the theory that the model overweighted credit history and non-tenancy debt while ignoring the guaranteed portion of income provided by federal housing vouchers.
- Settlement
- $2,275,000
- Counsel of record
- National Consumer Law Center · Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC · Greater Boston Legal Services
Claims pleaded
Sources (2)
- Louis v. SafeRent Solutions, LLC, 1:22-cv-10800 (D. Mass.)Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse · 2024-11-20
- Rental Applicants Reach $2.28M Settlement Agreement for Discriminatory AI-Powered Screening ToolCohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC · 2024-11
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