Can this person sue?

Please tell me if grounds for a lawsuit exist for denial of a person's right
to equal opportunity to fair housing.

I have a friend who was arrested, held a few months in the county jail as an
unconvicted pre-trial detainee on a felony theft charge, and was found not
guilty at trial. Upon his release he moved in with a relative who lived in
Section 8 HUD housing.

One day the apartment manager came by and told my friend that if he was
going to continue to stay with his relative in the HUD housing that he would
have to fill out an application and get his name on the contract. My friend
did so, the application was approved, and he was allowed to continue living
there.

Around 6 months later the housing complex was sold to another company and a
new apartment manager was installed in place of the old manager. The new
manager came by and told my friend, who was still staying with his relative
in the HUD unit, that due to the new ownership of the apartment complex,
everyone has to fill out an application to be "requalified". My friend
argued with the manager and stated that his contract was in full force for
one year and refused to fill out an application. The apartment manager came
by a couple days later and told my friend that he would have to move out. My
friend then filled out the application, and a few days later received a
letter from the apartment manager stating that his application had been
denied. My friend contacted the apartment manager and inquired as to why his
application had been denied, and the manager replied that the application
was denied because he had been arrested (even though having been arrested
does not disqualify him from living in HUD housing, he was NOT convicted and
has never been convicted of a crime in his life). Consequently, my friend
had to move out and is now living in a farmer's barn (yes this is true).

Now my friend has learned that his application for tenancy in HUD housing
was never processed. The apartment manager had learned of his arrest by word
of mouth from the relative that he was living with in the HUD unit and never
performed a background check on him as a part of the application process.
The name of the apartment complex is Santa Fe Trails Apartments in
Leavenworth, Kansas and it is owned by Dalmark Investments in Kansas City
and the Pioneer Group in Topeka, Kansas.

Does my friend have good grounds for a lawsuit against the owners of the
housing complex based on the fact that his application for HUD housing was
not processed? It sounds like a denial of his civil rights under the Fair
Housing Act.
If any Kansas attorneys are reading this and are interested please let me
know.









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