Woman kicked out of trailer park says case may go to mediation, files complaint against attorney for alleged mismanagement
Roxanne Joganik, left, and Darlina Anthony
SEVEN POINTS — Transgender woman Roxanne Joganik is facing possible mediation in her lawsuit against a property owner who kicked her out of his trailer park in Athens last year.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development filed the lawsuit in October against the park owner, George Toone.
The Justice Department is seeking to restore Joganik and her partner’s housing, as well as bar discrimination against gender identity in the Fair
Housing Act with a ruling in the case that will outline that gender identity falls under sex discrimination.
Dallas Voice was the first to report the story in August. LGBT advocates hope the case is a landmark in establishing discrimination based on gender identity, which is already covered under U.S. law as sex discrimination.
Last month, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nicole Mitchell slated a trial for Dec. 2, 2014, if the case wasn’t resolved through mediation. A mediator in
Tyler has been agreed upon, but Joganik said Toone is refusing to go to mediation because he wants more rights for property owners.
“There’s no sense in mediation,” she said.
Joganik said in the beginning of the case, she offered to settle with Toone, agreeing to dress as a man in public areas of the park if he agreed to follow HUD regulations and participate in sensitivity training. But he declined that offer.
HUD is seeking $16,000 in damages on behalf of Joganik.
“I offered to settle the case. I’m not looking for a fight,” she said, adding that if mediation is required by the court, she’d attend. “I’m waiting for mediation, but I’m not going to accept anything but a large settlement at this point.”
Joganik also is in the process of trying to receive different representation from the Justice Department. She’s filed a complaint against her attorney Lori Wagner for mishandling her case, including losing documents and making inappropriate comments about her gender identity.
“It’s just not working,” she said. “This is a case I think is a very precedent-setting case. I don’t consider it a joke.”
Wagner is also on board with resolving the case through mediation, which would likely prevent a precedent being set with a ruling about gender identity under the Fair Housing Act. She wrote in a proposal that “this case would benefit from mediation.”
Wagner did not respond to an email request for comment. Joganik said she hopes the Justice Department assigned a new attorney to help fight for a ruling in the case at trial so she and other trans people don’t face similar discrimination again.
“It’s a civil rights issue of our time,” Joganik said about trans issues. “If a win in the 5th Circuit is done, then that will set a new precedent for this and keep these bigots from being brave enough to discriminate anymore. If we don’t fight, we lose.”
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition January 10, 2014.
