Since 2010 the Department of Justice has been in the process of creating rules for web access under the ADA. No rules have been proposed, and this month the DOJ announced that it was splitting the proposed rule making into two parts and delaying the issuance of a notice of proposed rule making for both. The original proposed rules were to cover both Title II entities (cities other municipalities) and Title III entities (private businesses operating as places of public accommodation. The Title II rules will now proceed as a separate process with an earlier proposed date. More
Monthly Archives: July 2013
Assistance Animals and the FHA – Lessons from a new lawsuit by the DOJ
By richardhunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA FHA General, ADA FHA Litigation General, Apartments, Condominiums, FHA, Multi-Family Tags: Apartments, assistance animals, Condominiums, FHA Litigation, Pets, service animals, therapy animals
On July 1 the Department of Justice announced the filing of another lawsuit challenging what it calls discrimination based on the refusal to allow a therapy animal without a pet deposit. U.S. v Barber, 3:13-05539 (W.D. Wash). Coming on the heels of HUD’s April 25 “Notice Concerning Service Animals and Assistance Animal” the lawsuit is another reminder that this particular FHA violation is of special interest to the government regulatory agencies. It also suggests that apartment owners and managers need to tread carefully and think clearly about how they approach requests for assistance animals. After all, there is no animal more dangerous than a lawyer with a plausible claim. More
Picking and choosing – HUD has its own notions of what the FHA requires.
By richardhunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA FHA General, ADA FHA Litigation General, Condominiums, FHA, Multi-Family, Residential Development Tags: Apartments, architects, Condominiums, contractors, FHA Litigation
On April 30, 2013 HUD and the Department of Justice issued a “Joint Statement” concerning FHA issues. It includes some straightforward tips about compliance with the FHA, but also includes some examples of how these agencies pick and choose among statutes and regulations in ways that might be hard to predict.
The first example is found in item 59. Both HUD and DOJ reject the 9th Circuit’s understanding of the statute of limitations in FHA cases although it is the highest court authority on the issue. In Garcia v. Brockway, 526 F.3d 456 (9th Cir. 2008) the Ninth Circuit held that design/build claims under the FHA accrued for limitations purposes when the project was completed. This result can be avoided only by alleging a continuing practice of discrimination (see cases cited in National Fair Housing Alliance, Inc. v. HHHunt Corp., 2013 WL 335877 (W.D.Va. 2013)). Despite this, HUD flatly states that it will accept complaints based on its own interpretation of the law. More