Houhe Zeng, proceeding pro se, sued her landlord and property management company alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act and the Texas Property Code. Zeng, who has an olfactory impairment, claimed the defendants discriminated against her by refusing to repair moldy carpet and replace air conditioning filters, which she argued she could not detect due to her disability. After the district court granted Zeng leave to amend her complaint to cure deficiencies, it dismissed the suit under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. Zeng appealed the dismissal and challenged the denial of her motion to recuse the district judge.
The Fifth Circuit reviewed the dismissal de novo, applying the standard that the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination against persons with handicaps in the provision of services or facilities. The court emphasized that plaintiffs must allege specific facts demonstrating a causal connection between the alleged discrimination and the disability. The court found that Zeng failed to plead specific facts showing a causal link between the failure to make repairs and her purported disability, citing its prior decision in Mason v. Integra Peak Mgmt. Inc. regarding this requirement. Regarding the motion to recuse, the court applied an abuse of discretion standard, noting that a judge's adverse rulings are insufficient to show bias. The court held that Zeng failed to identify evidence of deep-seated favoritism or circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to doubt the judge's impartiality.
The dismissal of Zeng's Fair Housing Act claims stands. The decision reinforces the requirement for plaintiffs to plead specific causal facts in disability-based housing discrimination cases. It also clarifies that litigants cannot secure recusal based solely on unfavorable rulings. The court denied Zeng's motions for summary disposition and to reassign the case in the event of a remand.
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