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