FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. (rbs news now) — Two families have been awarded $750,000 after a jury ruled that the owner of a Smith Mountain Lake (SML) campground discriminated against them because one of the family members was Black.

In June 2020, Amanda Mills and her friend Angela Smith took their families on a camping trip to Lazy Cove Campground at SML.

Mills, who is White, invited Smith’s family, her husband Damien Smith, who is Black, and their 8-year-old son, to lease a neighboring spot.

The wife successfully negotiated a lease with the campground owner Regina Turner and both families rented side-by-side lots.

However, once Turner learned that Damien Smith was Black, she told Mills, “You didn’t tell me your friend’s husband is Black. Had I known, I wouldn’t have rented to them.”

According to court documents, Turner later added, “I saw the son, but I figured everyone makes a mistake.”

Turner then moved to evict both families, even though they had done nothing wrong, according to the documents.

She also refused to refund their rental fees or allow them to sell their campers—restrictions not placed on other tenants.

The Virginia Attorney General’s Office and the Virginia Fair Housing Board filed a civil suit against Turner on one count of refusing to rent and two counts of discrimination

After less than two hours of deliberation, the jury awarded $100,000 to each family for their financial losses, emotional distress, and humiliation.

The jury also ordered $550,000 in punitive damages to punish Turner and deter future discrimination.

“Housing discrimination—and discrimination of any kind—will not be tolerated in Virginia,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares. “We are pleased by the jury’s verdict, and I’m immensely proud of my Civil Rights Unit. The people of Franklin County have spoken: Smith Mountain Lake is for everyone.”

The $750,000 verdict is the largest fair housing jury award ever secured by the Virginia Attorney General’s Office.

“It was like a sigh of relief, but at the same time, I’m still angry because we never should have had to go through this,” Damien Smith said following the verdict. “It was 2020 at the time, and somehow we’re still getting judged by the color of our skin versus the kind of person we are.”

Turner’s lawyer, Rocky Mount Mayor Holland Perdue, filed a motion to overturn the verdict.

Turner said the families were never evicted and explained that, even though her late husband didn’t rent to Black people, the campground now welcomes ‘all kinds of people.’

She is set to appear in court on April 8.

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