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Sacramento - The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) today announced
a $1 million settlement of a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by DFEH against a San Francisco landlord who refused
a tenant's request for an accessible parking space. This settlement is the largest in DFEH history for a housing discrimination
case.
"I hope that this case sends a strong reminder to housing providers of the legal obligation to provide reasonable
accommodation for tenants with disabilities," said DFEH Director Suzanne M. Ambrose. "Housing providers cannot simply
disregard or ignore a tenant's request for a reasonable accommodation. Something as reasonable as providing an accessible
parking space or an extra key for a caregiver does not impose an economic hardship for a housing provider, but significantly
enhances the quality of life for a person with severe degenerative joint disease."
In a lawsuit filed in San Francisco
County Superior Court, the DFEH contended that in May 2000, the owners of an apartment building violated the civil rights
of a tenant, Shirley Carper, who has severe degenerative joint disease. The landlord, 2001 California Partnership, refused
her request for reasonable accommodation of her disability.
Ms. Carper, a tenant for 24 years of an apartment building
on California Street, in San Francisco, requested a reasonable accommodation for an accessible parking space, and extra keys
for her live-in caregiver. The building owner denied her request for an accommodation. The tenant contacted the
DFEH and Project Sentinel, a nonprofit organization that deals with housing discrimination. Project Sentinel was a real
party in interest in the lawsuit. For the next three years, Ms. Carper fought for her parking space. It was only
after the DFEH filed a lawsuit that the parking space was granted.
After an eight day trial and a full
day of deliberations, the jury found the landlord liable for disability harassment and denial of a reasonable accommodation
and awarded compensatory damages. Before the jury returned to deliberate on the amount of punitive damages to award,
the parties settled the case for $1 million in compensatory damages and affirmative relief. The affirmative relief includes
requiring the landlord to: develop and disseminate to all residents a written policy regarding their right to receive,
and the owner's duty to provide, reasonable accommodation under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), undergo training
regarding the duties of a landlord under the FEHA, and post the court's order that the landlord violated the FEHA.
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