A judge has thrown out a lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis and the Whittier Alliance that alleged the neighborhood group discriminated against minority residents and business owners.
U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery ruled Monday that the five people who alleged mistreatment didn't have legal standing to make a claim about being blocked from running for the Alliance's board — because none of them actually attempted to run for office this year. The group had also argued that the Whittier Alliance discriminated against Somali business owners, but the city contended that none of the plaintiffs in the case were themselves Somali business owners.
The five Whittier Alliance members — Basim Sabri, Marty Schulenberg, Mohamed Cali, Jay Webb and Zachary Metoyer — initially filed a complaint in March, seeking a court order to block the neighborhood group's annual board elections. That request was denied, though the judge ruled that the complaints should be considered by the court.
Erin Golden
