Pregnant Culver City Woman Who Alleged Housing Discrimination Reaches Agreement With Landlord

CULVER CITY, CA – A settlement has been reached between a couple and their former landlord, an actress who they sued alleging that their lease in Culver City was wrongfully ended prior to Christmas 2015 because the woman was pregnant at the time. The couple alleged housing discrimination and both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Attorneys for the couple, Michael and Karen Pitts, filed court papers Sept. 15 with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ernest Hiroshige asking that their case against Financial Management Co. and actress Frieda Rentie be dismissed. In July, the judge approved a settlement in which Rentie agreed to pay $1,000 to the couple's minor daughter.

The plaintiffs moved into a Culver City building owned and operated by the 83-year-old Rentie and Financial Management in mid-2009 and were paying $1,900 a month in rent at the end of their time there, the suit stated. Karen Pitts became pregnant in July 2015, the suit states, prompting other residents to warn her to keep her situation a secret or risk being kicked out by Rentie, the suit stated.

After Rentie found out in December 2015 that Pitts was pregnant, the actress told the family they had 60 days to leave, terminating their lease, the suit alleged.

Karen Pitts previously issued a prepared statement about the lawsuit.

"It was so stressful to have to look for a new apartment around Christmas time ..." she said. "We were away visiting family for several weeks and all I could think about was, `Where are we going to be living when I deliver our baby in a couple of months?"'

Michael Pitts said the couple previously got along with Rentie.

"Only when she found out we were pregnant with our second child before Christmas (2015) did our landlord turn against us and send us packing," he said.

Karen Pitts suffered emotional distress from the events and gave birth to her baby in March via caesarian section, approximately two months prior to the baby's expected due date, the suit stated.

Rentie had a role in the 1972 film "The Poseidon Adventure."

City News Service and Patch staffer Emily Holland contributed to this post; Image via Shutterstock