INDIANAPOLIS — A judge ordered a former homeowner on Indy's northwest side to pay more than $225,000 to a neighbor and the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana (FHCCI) in a housing discrimination lawsuit.
Vicki New, a former resident of the Twin Creeks subdivision in Pike Township, had previously been caught on camera attacking neighbors with a yard sign. She was accused of making racist threats and continually harassing neighbors.
(NOTE: The above video is a 2018 report about criminal allegations against Vicki New.)
"She has told me to go back to Mexico. To go back where I came from," said Rios. "She tells me on a daily basis, 'I'm going to kill you,'" then-neighbor Miguel Rios told 13News in 2018.
All criminal charges against New were dismissed in 2019.
Wednesday, a federal judge ordered New to pay a former neighbor $100,000 in punitive damages and $50,000 in compensatory damages. She'll also have to pay the FHCCI more than $37,000 in punitive damages and more than $12,000 in compensatory damages.
Additionally, both the neighbor and the housing organization were jointly awarded more than $26,000 in attorneys' fees and costs.
"We are extremely pleased with this judgment against Vicki New, which reflects the great harm that occurred," stated Amy Nelson, executive director of the FHCCI. "Our client and others residing in the Twin Creeks subdivision endured relentless harassment based on race or national origin for far too long. This ruling sends a message to all that harassment and housing discrimination of any kind is unacceptable and the law will be enforced."
FHCCI reached a settlement with Twin Creeks' property management company and the homeowner's association in March of 2022 in the same case. In that settlement, the Twin Creeks Homeowners Association and Kirkpatrick Management agreed to pay $262,500 as compensation for FHCCI's damages, attorneys fees, and costs.