Low-Income Tenants Claim Sexual Harassment By Former Landlord

Four former tenants filed a lawsuit against their landlord in Superior Court due to repeated and ongoing sexual harassment that they endured from him during their tenancies at the landlord's facilities in Winston-Salem.

The lawsuit, brought by attorneys with [LSC-funded] Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) and the Legal Aid Society of Northwest North Carolina, alleges that the tenants were groped and propositioned by their landlord during their tenancies, all of which occurred during the period from 2002 to 2005. All four tenants were single, African-American females who lived separately and did not know each other before contacting LANC.

"These tenants were victimized by unwanted sexual touching and other types of harassment and exploitation from their landlord Robbie Watson," said Liza Baron, managing attorney in LANC's Winston-Salem office. "They reported his actions separately to us and did not know each other prior to consulting with us about it. Unfortunately, many tenants are not aware that it is a serious violation of the law for a landlord to proposition them or touch them in a sexual manner. Tenants have legal rights to enforce if this happens to them, and damages to pursue in court. Sexual harassment of women by their landlords is a violation of their rights in the place where women should be most safe: at home."

The tenants' former landlord, Robbie Watson, is a resident of Lexington, NC, according to the lawsuit. He owns approximately 120 rental units in Forsyth County. His tenants are primarily Section 8 tenants, which means that they receive a subsidy from the federal government to help with their rent payments, based on their income.

The tenants are seeking unspecified monetary damages. The lawsuit was filed on October 25.