Another HOA Gets 'Bitten' By 'Companion Pooch'; Association To Cough Up $40K To Settle Suit With Civil Rights Feds Over Condo Resident's Right To Keep 'Depression' Dog

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Phialdelphia, Pennsylvania):

• The United States [] announced a $40,000 consent decree that resolves a dispute alleging that the condominium association for The Philadelphian violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to grant a resident’s request for a reasonable accommodation, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The Philadelphian consists of 776 units and is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
  
  The consent decree was filed today, with a complaint, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The complaint alleges that The Philadelphian refused to grant a reasonable accommodation so that a resident with a disability could keep a small dog, named “Lucy,” in the condominium she owned in order to help her cope with the effects of depression.(1) The lawsuit further alleges that the defendant’s policy, with respect to reasonable accommodation, violated the Fair Housing Act with respect to this individual specifically, and constituted an illegal pattern or practice.
  
  Under the consent decree, the defendants will pay $15,000 to the resident with a disability, $10,000 as a civil penalty to the United States, and $15,000 into a fund to pay any other residents of The Philadelphian who may have claims based on The Philadelphian’s policy. Additionally, the defendants will attend fair housing education and training; implement a new reasonable accommodation policy for owners of assistance animals; and comply with notice, monitoring and reporting requirements. The consent decree requests that the Court maintain jurisdiction over this case for three years.
  
  “Enforcing the fair housing rights of persons with disabilities in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, including those with mental health disabilities, is a priority of this office,” said Memeger. “We will continue to work to ensure that those individuals with disabilities are not denied accommodations they need to live independently.”
  
  “Assistance animals are not pets. They play a vital role in helping people with disabilities live their lives fully,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD and the Department of Justice will continue to ensure that condominium associations grant reasonable accommodations when they are needed.”
  
  The lawsuit arose as a result of a complaint that the resident filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). After an investigation of the complaint, HUD issued a charge of discrimination. Based on this complaint, other complaints filed by other residents of The Philadelphian, and the written policies issued by The Philadelphian, the Assistant Secretary of HUD determined that this defendant had engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination. The resident and the board of The Philadelphian elected to have the case heard in federal court.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see United States Settles Disability Discrimination Case Involving A Resident With A Disability At The Philadelphian.

For the settlement agreement, see U.S. v. Philadelphian Owners Association.

(1) "Lucy" is apparently an example of what the literature generally refers to as an emotional support animal, an assistance animal that does not receive any specialized training to assist those with mental disabilities, but whose function is to simply provide motivation and emotional support to their owners (and that apparently qualifies as a 'reasonable accommodation' in connection with the enforcement of the federal Fair Housing Act; however such an assistance animal may not qualify as a 'service animal' in connection with the enforcement of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act). Emotional support animals are to be contrasted with what the literature refers to as 'service animals', animals that do receive specifice training to do work or perform tasks for those with disabilities. See generally:

• Dogs: A medicine for mental health problems?
• Service and Emotional Support Animals under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act,
• A Comparative Study: Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act & An Overview of Assistance Animal Laws of Select States,
• No Training Required: The Availability of Emotional Support Animals as a Component of Equal Access for the Psychiatrically Disabled under the Fair Housing Act,
• Revised ADA Requirements - Service Animals,
• Reasonable Accomodations Under The Fair Housing Act.

It should be noted that, in enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act, it appears that 'service animals' may be limited to dogs, and that said dogs must have received the necessary training to do work or perform tasks for their owners (see Revised ADA Requirements - Service Animals). It doesn't appear that, in enforcing the Fair Housing Act, there are similar requirements for an animal to qualify as an emotional support/assistance animal constituting a 'reasonable accommodation' for its owner in connection with the enforcement of that owner's housing rights (although I suspect that the animal's owner will at least need a doctor's note prescribing the animal for the owner/patient's emotional stability, or possibly some other objective proof). See Reasonable Accomodations Under The Fair Housing Act - Q & A # 6, 11, 17.