Court allows extension on discrimination case

By Barbara Brown
The defendant in a federal discrimination case has been granted an extension to answer charges that he illegally refused to sell three housing lots to a family because handicapped people would have lived in one of the houses.
An answer to the charges was supposed to have been received by Sept. 3, but the attorney for Dennis and Sharon Gustafson requested an extension until later in the month because the attorney had been involved in other cases and needed more time to prepare the Gustafson answer.
The federal government is suing the Gustafsons on behalf of the Perron and Jorgenson families, citing violations of the Fair Housing Act.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Brooker said he would expect the case to go to mediation.
He said it would be very expensive for the Gustafsons to want to take the case to trial.
A federal judge is expected at the end of September to order deadlines for a trial schedule to include when depositions would be held and when the attorneys may file motions and should be ready for trial.
Although that schedule will come, the attorneys for both sides can still take the issue through mediation, to essentially settle out of court.
ìWe werenít all that far apart before we had to file,î Brooker said.
He said if both sides agree to mediation, the issue could be heard by early October.
If the case does go to trial, Brooker said, the case could be heard by a federal judge within a year.

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