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A Michigan real estate broker is accused of blockbusting by telling homeowners in a Lansing neighborhood that property values will decline because families of a particular national origin are moving in, and urging them to sell quickly. A homeowner files a complaint with the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. The broker argues that he was simply providing market information. Which of the following best describes the legal outcome under Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act?

Correct Answer

B) The broker's conduct constitutes blockbusting, which is prohibited under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act regardless of whether the market information was accurate.

Blockbusting—inducing or attempting to induce the sale of property by representations regarding the entry or prospective entry of persons of a particular national origin (or other protected class) into a neighborhood—is explicitly prohibited under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (MCL 37.2502) and the federal Fair Housing Act. The prohibition applies regardless of whether the market prediction was accurate; the act of using protected class characteristics to induce panic selling is itself the violation.

Answer Options
A
The broker's conduct is protected free speech and cannot form the basis of a civil rights violation.
B
The broker's conduct constitutes blockbusting, which is prohibited under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act regardless of whether the market information was accurate.
C
The broker's conduct is only actionable if the homeowners actually sold their properties at a loss as a direct result of his statements.
D
The broker can avoid liability by demonstrating that property values did in fact decline after families of that national origin moved into the neighborhood.

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Related Topics & Key Terms

Key Terms:

elliott_larsenblockbustingnational_originenforcementprohibited_practices

Related Concepts

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