Housing discrimination claim against on-line service gets new hearing in the Ninth Circuit

The Ninth Circuit will reconsider whether an internet roommate-matching service can be held liable under the Fair Housing Act for postings on its site.  On Friday the court ordered that Fair Housing Council v. Roommate.com will be re-heard by an en banc panel. 

In May of this year, a divided three-judge panel held that Roommate.com was immune from liability under the Communications Decency Act, even though it had allegedly published listings stating discriminatory preferences.  See our earlier coverage of the case here.