After the federal government reported that the owners of a Gunnison housing complex refused to abide by the terms of an agreement meant to avoid further discrimination, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has now ordered them to comply.

David Welch, John Welch and Ruth Welch signed an agreement in early 2020, along with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, promising to take a series of actions to comply with federal housing nondiscrimination law. Instead, the government reported the Welches have ignored the agreement almost entirely.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeyen J. Wu informed the 10th Circuit in November that Ruth Welch ignored or hung up on multiple phone calls from HUD, and the Welches, as a group, neither responded to letters nor to multiple phone calls.

Even the U.S. Department of Justice was unsuccessful at reaching them.

“You know what? You need to quit listening to those people. They’re a bunch of crooks,” Ruth Welch told Colorado Politics on Wednesday before hanging up.

In March 2019, the Denver Metro Fair Housing Center filed a complaint with HUD claiming the Welches discriminated against families with children by denying or discouraging families from renting at Westwood Cove Condominiums, located at 1412 West Gunnison Avenue.

Among the allegations were that the Welches placed advertisements stating the property was available for people over 35 or 40 – “no exception” – and Ruth Welch informed an employee of Denver Metro Fair Housing Center that “she did not think she could bend the rules” by renting to someone with a four-year-old. The government charged that such conduct violated the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of familial status.

The Welches responded in a letter that there is “no truth in any of your rantings.”

Nevertheless, the Welches agreed to resolve the claim of discrimination by signing the consent agreement. The terms required the Welches to advertise that “families with children (are) welcome to apply,” remove the phrase “adult condominium community” from the Westwood Cove website, and provide HUD with a log of Westwood Cove’s advertisements and rental inquiries.

In addition, the Welches must display fair housing postures and brochures and pay $800 to the Denver Metro Fair Housing Center.

According to Wu, the Welches still owe $300 and have not provided the required documentation to HUD. 

“It is reasonable to infer that respondents’ non-compliance extends not only to the failure to submit report, but a refusal to keep such records,” Wu wrote.

On Feb. 18, the 10th Circuit granted the government’s request to restart the effective date of the agreement’s three-year monitoring period, beginning when the Welches submit their logs to HUD.

The 10th Circuit ordered the Welches to pay the remaining $300 within 60 days and inform the government they intend to comply with the consent agreement. The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a question about what would happen if the Welches continued not to comply.

The Welches did not respond to the government’s petition to the 10th Circuit.