LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Sadly old biases hang on, often long after society moves on, say lawyers for a gay man who was attacked by another homeowner in their Century Park East condominium complex in Los Angeles' generally liberal and tolerant Westside.
"In the scheme of things, it was a relatively small incident. But in a larger sense, it is a microcosm, an insight into the regrettable resilience of old ideas and discredited biases," say Michael Alder of the Beverly Hills trial firm of AlderLaw and David Brien of the Law Offices of David R. Brien in Calabasas, CA. "That makes the situation all the more abhorrent."
Alder and Brien represent Howard Kirschenbaum, who was attacked at a meeting of the condo complex homeowners association. Kirschenbaum's suit seeks damages for medical expenses and anguish from Marc Alexander for the attack and from the association for negligence. According to the suit, the association's Board of Directors had been aware for some time that Alexander, a Board member, had "violent propensities" but took few precautions to protect residents.
Hard numbers on hate crimes are hard to come by. In its most recent report, the FBI found that hate crimes of all sorts rose by 8 percent in 2006 to more than 7,700. But crimes based on sexual orientation rose at twice that rate. And those are just the ones reported and confirmed. An earlier study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Justice Department found the actual number of incidents to be many times higher.
As is often the case, the dispute between Kirschenbaum and Alexander had its roots in financial issues -- specifically in how monies were to be allocated for the property and how much each homeowner would be assessed. Kirschenbaum challenged certain decisions by the Board, of which Alexander is a member, and urged it to reverse them. The tensions also involved competition in campaigning for the association's Board.
Thereafter, according to the suit, Kirschenbaum and his partner became frequent targets of verbal abuse by Alexander and his friends, as did other homeowners and Board members who agreed with Kirschenbaum. The physical assault occurred about a month later, in May 2007 at a subsequent meeting of the homeowners association, with Alexander allegedly repeatedly hitting Kirschenbaum, pounding his head into a wall, tackling him to the ground, and pinning him to the floor, all the while spewing expletives about his gay lifestyle.
The lawsuit is working its way through the legal process.
AlderLaw is reachable at 310-275-9131, and additional information about it is available at www.alderlaw.com. The Law Offices of David R. Brien are reachable at 800-910-9272, and additional information is available at www.davidbrien.com.