Fair Housing Act
-
ADA and FHA Standing – good news, bad news and a twist
I don’t usually blog about my own cases because it requires that I put in a disclaimer.¹ However, a trio of district court decisions, including two in cases where I represent the defendant, justify another look at standing after Transunion and the Laufer cases.² I’ll start with the good news of an apparent trend in… Continue reading
-
Quick Hits – April is the cruelest month edition
April is the cruellest month according to T.S. Eliot†, but it was really just busy for my practice and the courts. Here’s part one of our update on important decisions in the ADA and FHA world. We expect to be caught up after a long weekend of blogging and a couple of additional installments. Continue reading
-
Fighting fake ESA’s – Guidance on what constitutes reliable evidence of disability
This week’s news is a year old, but very important for apartment owners and managers confronted by the increasing flood of fake emotional support animal requests.* In March of 2017 the Virginia Fair Housing Board, which carries out Virginia’s mandate for disability rights in housing, issued a formal guidance on what constitutes reliable evidence of… Continue reading
-
When does a mental impairment become a disability? Let the jury decide
When used in the context of a claim under the Fair Housing Act or Americans with Disabilities Act the words “disability” and “handicap” have specific legal meanings. Our last blog looked at a case, Houston v. DTN Operating,* discussing what a plaintiff must plead concerning her disability in a reasonable accommodation case. Today we’re looking another recent… Continue reading
-
Emotional Support Animal scams – good news from the Eastern District of Texas
The October 17, 2017 decision by Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas in Houston v. DTN Operating Company et al., 2017 WL 4653246 (E.D.Tex 2017) is good news for landlords confronted by bogus internet diagnoses of disability. There is a vexing lack of authority concerning just what constitutes sufficient evidence of a disability… Continue reading
