Investigator Bynum did not respond to my request for a formal written notice for delay. So I wrote to the Director, Jonathan Ekblad, expressing serious concerns about the delay, the lack of formal notice, and the harm the ongoing retaliation was causing me in court.
Instead of addressing the problem, Ekblad responded defensively, claiming there had been “substantive communication,” even though most updates had been vague, delayed, or misleading. He left out “right” when he stated timing for determination and provided a generic reasoning for the delay.
I corrected him and stressed how the agency’s failures had allowed Anna to weaponize the unresolved complaint against me and requested that they prioritize issuing a determination before my next court hearing. I also made it clear that I intended to share my experience publicly to raise awareness about the systemic failures facing tenants and individuals with disabilities in North Carolina.
It’s important to understand that the Director of the Civil Rights Division, Jonathan Ekblad, is a licensed attorney — and attorneys are not allowed to make misleading statements to parties. Yet that’s exactly what he did. Internal emails I obtained through a public records request show that their in-house counsel, Richard Boulden, asked Ekblad about the status of my determination. Instead of replying directly, Ekblad said they should “discuss it in person,” clearly indicating he wanted to keep the discussion off the record — which strongly suggests they were hiding something.
On top of that, in the same records, they attached information about a completely unrelated case showing it had been pending for 397 days — an outrageous delay for an agency that claims to have manageable caseloads. The fact that they exposed another overdue case while mishandling mine makes it clear this isn’t just about my complaint — it’s a pattern of systemic failure and concealment.
Even more telling, the delays aren’t because the agency is overwhelmed with complaints. According to the National Fair Housing Alliance, the NCHRC received only 157 complaints in 2023. With five investigators, that averages to just 2.6 cases per investigator per month — hardly an unmanageable workload. Based on how my own case was handled, it’s clear they aren’t actively investigating in a timely manner. It raises serious questions about how the agency is using the federal funds it receives to enforce fair housing laws.