The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has ruled in favor of a public housing authority in a move that Pat Troiano, HAI Group’s director of claims, describes as an “important win for HAI Group and for our membership.”
Background
A public housing authority, after learning that one of its residents was arrested for selling Xanax and Lortab to an undercover police informant, held a hearing on the matter and then terminated the resident’s Section 8 voucher—while her charges were still pending—since drug-related criminal activity is a violation of the voucher-holder’s agreement with the authority. The resident filed suit, claiming that, by basing its decision on insufficient evidence—the indictments and arrest records—and by relying on hearsay, the termination violated a federal regulation providing that factual determination in a voucher termination hearing shall be based on a preponderance of the evidence and the constitutional right to due process of law.
Outcome
The court affirmed that the indictments established that the plaintiff engaged in drug-related criminal activity under a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard and supported the PHA’s decision to terminate the plaintiff’s Section 8 housing voucher.
