Please support Carol Kimball’s Legal Defense

Defending oneself in court is time-consuming and expensive regardless of the merits of the lawsuit. As attorney Ken White states, “The process is the punishment.” And boy, have I been punished!

Why has it taken me so long to create this GoFundMe? Frankly, I was so traumatized by this devastating experience that I had to shut it out of my mind for nearly two years before I could write about it.

Who Is Organizing This Fundraiser? I am acting in my personal capacity and not on behalf of anyone else.

What Will Happen to the Money I Raise? All of it will go to pay my legal fees.

What is the Chicago Commission on Human Relations?

A few years ago, I was convicted of discrimination because I chose to rent my condo to applicants who had higher credit scores and more stable incomes and work history than the first group who applied. How is that possible?

The Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) is the city’s civil rights agency. In their words, they promote “appreciation of Chicago's diversity and work to eliminate prejudice and discrimination.”

Ten years ago, while I was in my mid-60s, in an effort to facilitate some form of semi-retirement, I moved to a small town in NW Indiana not too far from my home of 28 years, Chicago. I invested a very small inheritance in a property that I’ve since spent 9 years fixing up.

As background, in the previous 20 years, I’d experienced more than my share of financial reversals. 1) the Great Recession in the late 2000s (where I completely lost my career as a lender), 2) I lost $95,000 in what turned out to be a real estate Ponzi scheme, 3) more than one no-pay roommate (while still living in my condo), losing at least $5,000. I even had to pay one roommate to move out, rather than go to the expense of an eviction. 4) Finally, during the first two years of fixing up my new property, I lost $45,000 to an unscrupulous contractor.

After about 2 years of renovation work, I moved into my new place full time and began the process of renting my Chicago condo. When it came time to find qualified renters – which obviously was very important to my financial stability – I hired a leasing agent to vet the applicants. Long story short, based on several years’ experience as a loan officer qualifying buyers for mortgages (where self-employed applicants had many more hurdles to qualify for a loan because they are a known higher risk), I ended up choosing the applicants who had higher credit scores and more stable incomes. Seems reasonable, no?

It turns out that this was a form of DISCRIMINATION, according to the CCHR interpretation of the definition of fair housing. My realtor and I were shocked.

The people I declined to rent to immediately filed suit against me. My attorneys tried to get this case dismissed early on, and subsequently, tried to get the claimant to discuss settlement through mediation, which she attended but would not accept our generous settlement offer. She insisted on going all the way through the discovery process and trial, hence the staggering legal fees. She clearly wanted to make an example of me. In fact, she admitted that her group of actor and musician friends were cheering her on.

At the end of an excruciating four-year ordeal – detailed written responses, 2-hour Zoom mediation, and a full-bore hearing – I was found guilty of discrimination based on source of income. This cost me a fine of $500 to the City of Chicago, $5,291 in “damages” to the plaintiff, and a whopping $29,885 in attorney fees. During those four years, I was so stressed that my hair began to fall out and I would often weep in my sleep.

Needless to say, this is the exact opposite of creating some form of semi-retirement. Initially, if I had thrown up my hands and said “OK, I’m guilty”, it would have cost me less than $5,800, no legal fees and no years of agony. But I didn’t feel that I was guilty; I simply made a business decision which made sense to me.

I’m now 76 years old, still working part-time and using a reverse mortgage to continue staying in my new home.

I need to raise $35,700. I greatly appreciate any and all donations, no matter the size. Thank you very much.

Where Can I Read More? If you’d like to nerd out on the final CCHR order, go here: http://tinyurl.com/2avaxpcx Case Number 19-H-32

What other details can you give me? There are several more mind-bogglingly astonishing details about this very peculiar case that I can’t include here for legal reasons. If you'd like to know what the plaintiff and her husband did with the money they were awarded, please reach out to me privately, either by phone, email, messenger.