Clippers owner pays $2.7M in housing bias lawsuit

LOS ANGELES (AP) Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has agreed to pay $2.7 million to settle accusations that he tried to keep blacks, Hispanics and families with children out of his apartment buildings.

A Justice Department statement Tuesday says Sterling agreed to settle a 2006 government lawsuit that accused him, his wife and a family trust of housing discrimination in Los Angeles' Koreatown.

A federal judge must approve the settlement.

Four years ago, Sterling paid an undisclosed settlement and nearly $5 million in attorneys' fees to end a similar but unrelated lawsuit.

An e-mail to a spokesman for Sterling was not immediately returned.

Updated November 3, 2009