reasonable accommodation
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Shooting the messenger in FHA cases revisited.
Some time ago I blogged on a case in which a lease broker was sued for conveying to a prospective tenant the owner’s discriminatory refusal to rent.¹ Today I’m taking another look at the shooting the messenger problem, this time with a difference; the messenger was an insurance broker. Thanks to Bill Goren for call Continue reading
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More lessons from HUD and DOJ about the ADA and FHA
Press releases from HUD and DOJ in the last week or so contain plenty of lessons for the owners of businesses subject to the ADA and FHA. I can’t say whether these new claims by the government will pan out, but the nature of the claims made provides some insight in how to get into Continue reading
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HUD gets it wrong again on emotional support animals – two is one too many.
On October 7, 2020 HUD filed a charge of discrimination against Fairfield Properties and Pinewood Estates at Commack Condominium because they denied an accommodation for two emotional support dogs. FHEO No. 02-17-5246-8. The Charge includes the facts, which don’t seem to be disputed. It does not include an explanation of how HUD thinks these facts Continue reading
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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
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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
