A Jacksonville property management company has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Black housing applicants alleging that the defendants’ tenant-screening process discriminated against prospective renters.

JWB Property Management and a related entity, JWB Real Estate Capital, agreed to a settlement in a federal lawsuit filed last year in the Middle District of Florida. Black housing applicants alleged that the company’s screening process was not an accurate indicator of tenant worthiness and that the company’s actions discriminated against Black rental applicants in the Jacksonville area.

“At JWB and JWB Capital’s direction and request, when someone applies to rent from either defendant, or from defendants collectively, SafeRent or another tenant-screening company compiles and reports the mere existence of eviction filing … against rental applicants to JWB and JWB Capital without regard to the correctness of the filing or the case disposition,” the lawsuit filed in November of last year states.