Martin v. Sanford Housing Auth.

No. 6:99-cv-1482-orl-31DAB (Middle D. Fla. Feb. 22, 2001) ; Clearinghouse Number: 53491

Description

District Court Awards Damages and Attorney Fees in Parking Policy Discrimination Case

Abstract

The district court, finding that defendant housing authority discriminated against plaintiff housing authority resident in violation of the Fair Housing Act by refusing to make a reasonable accommodation to its parking policy, awarded plaintiff $13,750 in damages and $32,600 in attorney fees. Plaintiff was limited in her ability to walk, received social security disability benefits, and had a handicap vehicle permit. After defendant cited her for parking on the grass behind her apartment and threatened to evict her if she did so again, plaintiff requested a handicapped parking place; however, she received no response. Defendant sent a lease noncompliance notice stating that it would charge $25 for vehicles parked on the lawn. It also adopted a policy to respond to requests for reasonable accommodation within ten days but did not respond for more than two years to plaintiff’s request. Plaintiff sued for violation of the Fair Housing Act. The court entered a preliminary injunction requiring defendant to grant plaintiff a reasonable accommodation in its parking policy and prohibiting it from evicting or fining her for any alleged violation of that policy. After the court imposed a monetary sanction on defendant for failure to participate in good faith in mediation, defendant agreed to relocate plaintiff to a unit with a handicapped parking space. Trial having been scheduled on liability and damages, the court entered a default judgment against defendant on the issue of liability for failure to participate in preparation or filing of the pretrial statement it had ordered. Following a trial on damages and attorney fees, the court found that defendant’s threats had understandably caused plaintiff concern and awarded damages of $25 per day for the period from the date of the parking citation until entry of the preliminary injunction.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Plaintiff represented by Treena A. Kaye, Central Florida Legal Services, 315 Magnolia Ave., Sanford, FL 32771; 407.322.8983 and Robert Hornstein, Private attorney, Gainesville, FL.
Docket Date
2001-02-22 00:00:00+00:00

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