City of Phoenix v. Roberts

No. CV 98-15151 (Ariz. Super. Ct. Maricopa County Dec. 14, 1998). ; Clearinghouse Number: 52205

Description

Public Housing Authority Has Duty to Attempt to Accommodate Tenant’s Mental Disability Before Seeking to Evict Him

Abstract

The court dismissed the eviction of defendant tenant from public housing because plaintiff housing department failed to accommodate reasonably tenant’s mental disability in violation of section 3604(f)(3)(B) of the Fair Housing Amendments Act. Tenant had had a long history of mental illness. According to tenant’s expert witness, he fit the criteria for paranoid schizophrenia. In response to a series of notices of cleanliness inspections, which tenant considered to be intrusive and unnecessary, tenant wrote a letter to housing department. Although tenant believed the letter to be merely an expression of his opinion, housing department staff believed it to contain threats of violence against them. Housing department asked tenant to volunteer for an evaluation of his mental status, and he refused. Subsequently housing department initiated an involuntary psychiatric evaluation/detention. Based on tenant’s letter, housing department sought to evict tenant for criminal activity and threats of violence. The court found that housing department had a duty to attempt to accommodate tenant’s disability in light of his written threats. The court held that tenant could be subject to eviction only if he constituted a threat to others after housing department made reasonable efforts to accommodate tenant. Housing department’s motion for reconsideration was denied.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Defendants represented by Diana L. Varela, George H. McKay, Todd F. Lang, Community Legal Services, 305 S. Second Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85036; 602.258.3434.
Docket Date
1998-12-14 00:00:00+00:00