Use of Word 'Korean' Ruled Discriminatory

To the ordinary reader, the word "Korean" indicates a particular national origin. But can the word also carry a discriminatory message?

In some cases it does, a federal court judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz has issued a preliminary injunction that prohibits Los Angeles Clipper owner and real estate mogul Donald Sterling from using "Korean" in his building names, as well as advertisements and billboards related to the sale of his buildings or rental of units.

"Use of the word Korean in the names of residential apartment buildings would indicate to the 'ordinary reader' that the buildings' owner is not only receptive to but actually prefers tenants of Korean national origin," Matz wrote.

The judge, in his July ruling, also prohibited Sterling from requiring tenants to state their national origin or birthplace on rental applications or company forms. The ruling stems from a legal battle over accusations that the multimillionaire discriminates against African Americans and Latinos.

"On a statewide and even nationwide level, these are significant civil rights rulings as they create new precedent for all tenants in Los Angeles and elsewhere," said Gary Rhoades, litigation director for the Housing Rights Center, which filed the lawsuit.

"These violations -- the discriminatory apartment names and the demands for birthplace information -- had not been ruled on until now," Rhoades added.

The ruling remains in effect until the federal lawsuit against Sterling has been resolved.

But David Fischer, general counsel for Sterling's Beverly Hills Properties, called the injunction irrelevant and the lawsuit foolish. The firm decided against appealing the injunction because "it's not worth the investment of effort," he said.

Fischer said the company has removed the names from the apartment buildings. "It's sort of like a 'Seinfeld' lawsuit," Fischer said. "It's a case about nothing."

The legal battle, which is ongoing, is already changing, to some degree, Sterling's business practices. The fight also is producing pages of court documents that paint a portrait of Sterling as landlord. In court documents, he reflects on his 40 years in real estate and responds to accusations.

When it comes to basketball, the public knows Sterling. How much he pays his players, whom he trades and whom he recruits have shaped his public image as thrifty -- or stingy. But Sterling's dealings with the 10,000 tenants who live in his apartments have been a much quieter affair.