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    The Greater Williamsburg area is an exciting place to live and work, especially because of the large number of entrepreneurs who have built businesses from the ground up. These entrepreneurs have taken their passion and made it their profession. Many of us want to take that step. Before you begin, you need to think of the type of business entity you want to form. Our attorneys have extensive business experience, from small one-person companies to publicly traded major corporations. Our attorneys are among the leaders in Virginia in the representation of Common Interest Communities. These communities are generally referred to as "homeowners associations," or "HOAs," and "condominium associations." In the greater Williamsburg area alone, we provide legal assistance to nearly 100 associations. Our attorneys have successfully prosecuted and defended a wide array of civil disputes involving community association covenant enforcement, commercial transactions, construction disputes, contracts, real estate matters, boundary line and easement disputes, employment matters, antitrust litigation, copyright violations, administrative proceedings, and estate issues. Real Estate law encompasses a wide variety of matters, and our attorneys have vast experience to assist you. Whether you need assistance with a commercial or residential closing, or you have questions relating to residential or commercial leasing, we provide experienced advice and counsel to our clients. Zoning law can be a complicated maze of statutes and ordinances. We have ample experience in successful applications for rezoning, variance, and special use permit requests. Finally, commercial and residential construction provide special challenges with respect to financing issues and the construction process. We serve as counsel to various financial institutions.

ADA, FHA, and HOAs And Service Animals: Florida Association Sued for housing discrimination

A short while ago we wrote a blog piece on the issues relating to community associations regulating service animals. In that blog we noted that the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”)  “permits individuals with disabilities to keep an assistance animal as a reasonable accommodation when there are limitations imposed by the homeowner or condominium association on animals and pets.”  In Broward County, Florida, that county’s Civil Rights Division filed suit against a condominium association for violating the FHA by refusing to consider a person’s request for an “emotional servant animal,” a chihuahua.

In the lawsuit, the County alleges that the resident

  • suffered from a number of medical conditions, including severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder;
  • received a doctor’s recommendation that she obtain an emotional support animal;
  • that the resident acquired a small  dog as an emotional support animal; and
  • that the resident submitted copies of medical records indicating her need for the requested accommodation.

The association refused to permit the resident to keep the chihuahua because of its no-pet policy.

As we suggested in our blog, your homeowners association could have legal problems denying a reasonable request that complies with the FHA unless the association can show that

  • the assistance animal poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others;
  • that the animal will cause substantial damage to the property of others, and such threats or damage cannot be reduces or eliminated; or
  • that allowing the assistance animal poses an undue financial or administrative burden or fundamentally alters the nature of the housing program or services.

In this Broward County case, the association now faces the costs of litigation and the poor publicity that it brings. We repeat our admonition for HOAs: for those requests that are difficult or cause concern to the association, the association should consult an experienced homeowner association law firm immediately rather than risk any delays that may result in a Fair Housing complaint.

UPDATE: This case settled in April, 2012. The dismissal order did not indicate how the parties resolved the matter. Nonetheless, each party spent over a year in litigation, and agreed to pay their own attorneys’ fees.

Tarley Robinson, PLC, Attorneys and Counsellors at Law

Williamsburg, Virginia

 

 

 

 

John Tarley

John Tarley

 

 

 

 

 

John Tarley

John Tarley

John is the firm's managing partner and chairs the firm's small business, zoning, and litigation practice areas.

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Filed under: Common Interest Community, General Interest, HOA, HOA litigation, John Tarley, State & Federal Litigation, Unit Owners Association by John Tarley

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