News

Jacksonville Area Legal Aid settled a charge against Gannett Publishing Co. Inc. after the newspaper chain owner published classified advertisements placed by third parties that were allegedly discriminatory based on race, sex and familial status. Gannett did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Gannett owns The Florida Times-Union and St. Augustine Record in Northeast Florida. The charge JALA filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Fair Housing and Opportunity alleged that in Gannett’s online and print media outlets it “makes, prints or publishes notices, statements and advertisements with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling indicating a preference limitation or discrimination based on membership in a protected class” in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.

Of the 16 lawyers in Florida who have received the Consumer Protection Lawyer of the Year Award from The Florida Bar’s Consumer Protection Law Committee, four either work at Jacksonville Area Legal Aid currently or did at the time they received the award. That is more than any other law firm or government agency in Florida. “The fact that JALA makes up a quarter of that list is truly remarkable,” said JALA President and CEO Jim Kowalski. “It really speaks volumes about the impact of our work and how widely it is recognized within the organized Bar.” JALA’s latest recipient is Adam Thoresen, division chief of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid’s Consumer Advocacy and Litigation Unit, to whom the award was presented June 22 in Boca Raton at The Florida Bar’s annual meeting together with Morgan & Morgan’s John Yanchunis. Thoresen was also the recipient of the National Consumer Law Center’s Rising Star Award in 2021.