The owners of two Dunwoody apartment complexes have dropped their lawsuit accusing the city of violating federal housing laws and trying to drive low-income residents out of town, the city announced.

The owners of the Dunwoody Glen and LaCota apartments voluntarily dismissed the federal court lawsuit Feb. 28. They filed the lawsuit in September.

“The dismissal of the lawsuit affirms the city took appropriate and non-discriminatory action through its life safety and property maintenance inspection program,” Dunwoody Mayor Mike Davis said in a statement released by the city. “Properly addressing the life safety and property maintenance issues of the apartments, townhomes, and condominiums in our city is of critical importance and greatly enhances the quality of life for all our citizens.”

In the lawsuit, the apartment owners claimed city officials used housing code enforcement to harass the apartment owners. They said the city had tried to force them to sell or close the apartments, which provided housing for African American and Latino tenants.

In its statement, the city said the dismissal “clears the city of Dunwoody from all accusations of harassment and discrimination filed by the plaintiffs in relation to the Federal Fair Housing Act and the city’s building code enforcement activities on Dunwoody Glen and Lacota apartment complexes.”

Joe Earle is Editor-at-Large. He has more than 30-years of experience with daily newspapers, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was Managing Editor of Reporter Newspapers.