Dante’s hell was a complicated place, as this map by Botticelli suggests. Although Rodney Atkins’ advice “if you’re going through hell, keep on going” appears sound, winding through all the complexities of the ADA and FHA can seem like descending through all nine levels of hell. Nonetheless, I’m happy to act on a temporary basis as Virgil and see how far we can get. No promise about whether we’ll find a Beatrice to take you to Paradise. More
ADA service animals
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – a new ADA and FHA webinar
By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA Miniature Horses, ADA service animals, Animals, FHA Emotional Support Animals Tags: ADA defense, Emotional Support Animals, FHA Defense, minature horses, service animals
Next Friday, May 3, I’m going to be presenting a webinar explaining how the FHA, ADA and ACAA treat animals of all kinds. Here’s the official link from the University of Texas School of Law CLE program.
Live from the UT CLE Studio on May 3, 2019 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 1.00 hour CLE, $65
https://utcle.org/studio/ZAX19
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: What the ADA, FHA and Other Laws Say About Animals and Their Owners
With requests for accommodations for service animals and the like, learn how different laws cover such accommodations before referring your client to a specialist. This presentation outlines the ADA, FHA and the Air Carrier Access Actin in terms of the places covered by each. It discusses the difference between a “service animal” and every other kind of beast, and what the ADA vs. the FHA requires and what it permits in terms of verification of a need for the animal, and it also explores the rapidly developing law of what the ACAA requires and permits.
If you cannot watch the entire webcast at its scheduled time, register now and view the recorded eCourse when it is available in “Your Briefcase” after the webcast. Earn CLE credit (in TX and CA) on your time!
Pit Bulls and disability discrimination – the hard problem of FHA, ADA and ACAA policy
By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA service animals, Airlines, Animals, FHA Emotional Support Animals Tags: ADA defense, Air Carrier Access Act, Delta Airlines, Emotional Support Dogs, Pit Bulls, service dogs
Delta’s recent announcement that it was banning “pit bull type” dogs from its flights* has focused public attention on a long-standing problem in disability law; the inherent conflict between the need for easy to apply policies concerning service and emotional support animals and the prohibition in the law against basing decisions on stereotypes. You can ban any particular pit bull if there is good reason to believe it is dangerous, but you can’t ban all pit bulls just because it is a dangerous breed. More
PTSD and dogs – what does the ADA require?
By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA service animals, FHA Emotional Support Animals Tags: DOJ, emotional support dog, PTSD, service dog, VA, Veteran's Administration
A recent news* story about a veteran with PTSD and his dog is a good reminder that service dogs and emotional support dogs are not the same, and that the subject is still confusing to many people. This is especially important now because many states are moving to criminalize misrepresenting the status of a dog, meaning that some with disabilities may become criminals because of their ignorance.** More
Invisible disabilities under the FHA and ADA – when are they really real?
By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA service animals, Definition of disability
Among the most frustrating claims of disability for landlords, businesses and clear thinking lawyers are those involving mental impairments – invisible disabilities whose very existence is hard to determine. For this blog we’re stepping away from strictly new cases to look at some older cases that help define the circumstances under which a mental impairment like anxiety or depression is truly disabling. The key, we will see, is whether there is a substantial limitation on one or more major life activities. More