'Judged by the color of our skin': Jury awards $750,000 to families evicted for being Black

A Franklin County jury has awarded $750,000 in damages to two families who were evicted from a Smith Mountain Lake campground after the owner learned one of the family members was Black. The verdict marks the largest fair housing jury award ever secured by the Virginia attorney general’s office, according to a news release by Attorney General Jason Miyares.

The case centered on Regina Turner, owner of Lazy Cove Campground, who had rented lakeside lots to families for decades. But in June 2020, she abruptly sought to evict two families after discovering that one of the husbands, Damien Smith, was Black.

According to a complaint filed with the Virginia Fair Housing Board, which was first reported by The Washington Post, Turner told a tenant, “You didn’t tell me that your friend’s husband is Black… Had I known, I wouldn’t have rented the lot to them. I saw the son, but I figured everyone makes a mistake.”

Miyares hailed the jury’s decision as a critical victory against racial discrimination in fair housing.

“Housing discrimination — and discrimination of any kind — will not be tolerated in Virginia,” Miyares said in a statement Thursday. “We are pleased by the jury’s verdict, and I’m immensely proud of my Civil Rights Unit. The people of Franklin County have spoken: Smith Mountain Lake is for everyone.”

Turner denied evicting the families but admitted to making the controversial phone call. “I did say that to a degree,” she said in an interview with The Post. “I said I have a right to know who’s moving in. I did feel betrayed.” However, court documents also allege that she told another tenant’s mother, “No Blacks are allowed in my campground.”

The lawsuit stemmed from the experiences of two longtime friends, Amanda Mills and Angela Smith, who had viewed Lazy Cove as a perfect escape during the pandemic, setting up their campers side by side. Mills had negotiated a lease with Turner without issue, but after learning of Smith’s husband’s race, Turner took swift action to remove both families.

When the families attempted to leave, Turner refused to refund their rental fees or allow them to sell their campers — restrictions not imposed on other tenants. The Smiths say the most painful part of the ordeal was Turner’s alleged remark about their son.

The jury needed less than two hours to deliberate before awarding $100,000 to each couple for their losses, humiliation, and emotional distress. They also imposed $550,000 in punitive damages to hold Turner accountable and deter future discrimination.

“It was like a sigh of relief, but at the same time, I’m still angry because we never should have had to go through this,” Damien Smith said following the verdict. “It was 2020 at the time, and somehow we’re still getting judged by the color of our skin versus the kind of person we are.”

Turner’s attorney has since filed a motion to overturn the verdict, with a court hearing scheduled for April.

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