HIV-positive Reverend Settles Suit With Retirement Home

A former minister settled his lawsuit against an assisted-living facility that evicted him after they found he was HIV-positive.

The Reverend Dr. Robert Franke wanted to be closer to daughter Sara Franke Bowling in Little Rock, Ark., so he applied to live at Fox Ridge, an assisted-living facility. He moved in after fulfilling residency requirements, but after it was discovered that he is HIV-positive, Franke was abruptly ejected from his home, according to Lambda Legal, which took on his case.

Franke and Bowling sued the facility under the Fair Housing Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, and state laws.

"We firmly believe that as a result of our having brought this lawsuit, retired people in Arkansas who have HIV are less likely to face this kind of discrimination in the future," Franke said in a statement Wednesday.

Bowling said that a friend who works at a different independent assisted living facility told her that she and her coworkers were being educated and trained about HIV.