A federal judge earlier this month warned a trio of Gunnison landlords who have spent three years largely ignoring an anti-discrimination order that they cannot avoid their obligations any longer.

U.S. District Court Judge Gordon P. Gallagher informed David Welch, John Welch and Ruth Welch that whether they actually violated federal law in renting their property is now irrelevant. The Welches agreed to take certain steps to remedy their alleged discrimination and, even in the face of multiple court orders, the government reported – and the family admitted – they have not held up their end of the deal.

“It needs to start, and it needs to start now,” Gallagher told the family of landlords. “It’s the courts for the United States of America saying you have to do something, whether you like it or not.”

Although Gallagher directed the Welches to provide certain details to the government within 10 days of the hearing, their latest filing with the court appeared to once again fall short of complying with the order.

Beginning in early 2020, the Welches entered into a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in response to allegations that they were denying or discouraging families with children from renting in their 12-unit complex at 1412 W. Gunnison Ave.

Among other things, the Welches agreed to advertise their property with the phrase “families with children welcome to apply” and provide records of rental inquiries and applications to the government.

But the Welches went silent, prompting HUD to go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to seek enforcement of the consent decree. Last year, the 10th Circuit restarted the three-year monitoring period and told the Welches to begin complying.

For more than a year, the case sat in Colorado’s federal trial court. Initially, after the Welches failed to appear at a hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter recommended holding them in contempt. U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico, who is overseeing the case, held off on imposing punishment after HUD indicated it may be making progress with the Welches.

By spring 2023, any move toward compliance evaporated. Domenico told the Welches he would fine them $150 per day and potentially jail them if they continued to ignore their obligations.

In an unusual move, Domenico set a hearing for Aug. 18 outside of the federal courthouse – in Gunnison County, where the Welches live. Domenico arranged for Gallagher, who is stationed in Grand Junction, to come to town and speak to the Welches in person.

Zeyen J. Wu, the attorney for HUD, told Gallagher that “nothing” has happened in the case, and it was time to force the Welches to change their advertising and report to the government as they originally agreed to do.

“It’s been four years,” he said. “This is not the way that we’d prefer to spend our time, but that we do have an interest in, again, enforcing the law – in particular in this case, the Fair Housing Act, a civil rights law.”

When Gallagher asked the Welches to explain their side of the story, Ruth Welch, who handles rentals at the property and has hung up on multiple calls from Colorado Politics, admitted she was “guilty” of ignoring the family’s obligations.

“I’m guilty of not doing the reporting, not getting back to Mr. Wu. And he’s been very nice,” she said. “It’s just that I have neglected to do the reporting that he requested, and I take responsibility for that.”

Ruth Welch also claimed she “never, ever advertised against children,” but an agency investigation found the Welches ran advertisements requiring tenants to be at least 35 years old, “no exceptions.”

Gallagher said he would leave it to Domenico to decide whether to hold the Welches in contempt. But he explained that, regardless of whether the Welches thought it was a good idea to enter into the consent decree, they had no choice at this point.

“And that’s not to be rude, but I’m pretty blunt about things,” Gallagher said. “You’ve agreed to do certain things and agreed not to do other things.”

He told the Welches their advertising in the Gunnison Country Shopper, which has not incorporated the required family-inclusive language, must contain the agreed-upon wording exactly. They must also provide the government with a list of rental inquiries and detailed information about their tenants.

“I’ve never seen a court put somebody in jail for this,” Gallagher said. “But at some point, the court’s going to say, ‘Enough is enough,’ and the punishments are going to start happening.”

Gallagher ordered the Welches to give HUD a list of their tenants by Aug. 28 that includes renters’ contact numbers, email addresses and the “family mixture” of each household.

Ruth Welch filed a letter with the court on Aug. 24 that contained the number of people per unit, but otherwise failed to comply with Gallagher’s order.