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Minnesota Court of Appeals Allows Public Housing Residents' Civil Rights Case Against the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority to Move Forward

By: 24-7 Press Release

August 20, 2025 at 03:00 AM EDT

The lawsuit, which MPHA residents Kimberly Lowry and Jeanne Harris lead, was filed in Hennepin County in September of 2021, on behalf of a proposed class of current and former public housing residents.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, August 20, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On August 18, 2025, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued an opinion in a long-running civil rights lawsuit against the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority ("MPHA"). The opinion holds that neither the City nor MPHA are immune from suit with respect to the claims in this case, upending more than thirty years of the City's and MPHA's alleged failure to provide public housing residents with the services and quality of housing the law requires.

The lawsuit, which MPHA residents Kimberly Lowry and Jeanne Harris lead, was filed in Hennepin County in September of 2021, on behalf of a proposed class of current and former public housing residents. Among other things, the residents allege that the City violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act by failing to conduct routine inspections of public housing residents' dwellings despite conducting those same inspections of private rental residents' dwellings, and that MPHA violated various laws by failing to obtain a rental license and maintain safe and habitable dwellings.

At the district court level, MPHA and the City each moved for summary judgment, arguing immunity from suit. The district court granted MPHA's motion, and the case was reassigned to a different judge, who denied the City's motion. The parties filed cross-appeals. The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed MPHA's win and affirmed the City's loss, holding for the residents on all issues before the Court. In the August 18, 2025 opinion, Judge Schmidt, writing for the three-judge panel explained, "The duty to adopt a policy that includes the systematic inspections of all rental dwellings is a ministerial one that the [City's] director of regulatory services has violated…. The director of regulatory services is not entitled to official immunity for refusing to enforce the city code on behalf of MPHA tenants." As to MPHA, the Court rejected similar immunity arguments and held that the district court erred in finding there were no "questions of material fact as to whether enforcement of the licensing requirements—which requires an inspection to determine code compliance before the director of regulatory services will grant a license—would have prevented [the residents'] alleged injuries by denying the license in the first place."

Following release of the opinion, the residents' lead attorney, Anna P. Prakash of Nichols Kaster, PLLP, stated, "This opinion is so important—it allows this case to move forward, allows public housing residents their chance to have the merits of their claims heard, and removes longstanding excuses for the City's and MPHA's alleged failures with respect to licensing and inspections. Private housing residents have received these services for decades. Public housing residents should not be denied these same services just because they make less money than those in private rentals."

The underlying case is Lowry, et al. v. City of Minneapolis, et. al, Case No. 27-cv-21-10928, filed in Minnesota's Fourth Judicial District Court. Plaintiffs are represented by Anna P. Prakash and Matthew C. Helland of Nichols Kaster, PLLP; John R. Shoemaker and Paul F. Shoemaker of Shoemaker & Shoemaker, PLLC; and Larry McDonough.

Nichols Kaster, PLLP, an employee, consumer, and civil rights firm has dedicated over 50 years to fighting for clients in individual and class action matters. With offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California, the firm is perfectly situated for the work it does representing plaintiffs in cases across the country. The firm has recently received a First Tier ranking on the 2026 Best Law Firms List in Minneapolis for Litigation-Labor and Employment by U.S. News-Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms.

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Minnesota Court of Appeals Allows Public Housing Residents' Civil Rights Case Against the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority to Move Forward

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