United States Court of Appeals

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill v Board of County Commissioners of St. Johns County
376 F.3d 1292 (11th Cir. July 15, 2004)
Keys: P-STD
Two people with mental illnesses, their parents and mental health advocacy organizations sued the county board, alleging that the board’s decision not to fund a mental health group home violated the Fair Housing Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fourteenth Amendment’s right to due process and equal protection. The trial court dismissed all of the plaintiffs’ claims, holding that none had standing under any of the statutes or constitutional provisions. The plaintiffs with mental illnesses did not prove they were qualified to be residents of the group home, that they had sought to live there and that they were unable to do so because of the county board’s actions. The court held that the other plaintiffs’ interests were too attenuated to permit them to proceed. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed.

FLORIDA

United States District Court

Jacobs v. Concord Village Condominium X Association, Inc,
(S.D. Fla. Feb. 17, 2004)
Keys: L-MDF L-HRS, L-COS
An 86-year-old woman with post-polio syndrome experienced excruciating pain while walking and her doctor prescribed a motorized tricycle. Soon after she moved in, in 1982, the developer of Concord Village built a plywood ramp so she could store her tricycle and recharge its battery in a closet on the ground floor, which is four inches above the floor. In 2002, the ramp disappeared. A new ramp was constructed and it too soon disappeared. The association then locked the door to the storage closet, refused to allow Ms. Jacobs to have another ramp installed, and denied her access to her tricycle in the storage closet. She filed suit in federal court, alleging that the motorized tricycle was her only mode of personal transportation, that she did not drive, and that she had provided to the association a copy of her doctor's prescription for the tricycle, the basis for her physical handicap and the reason an accommodation is necessary.

The court found that the association never requested any additional medical evidence of the plaintiff's handicap, and is therefore estopped from contesting whether she has a disability under the Fair Housing Act. Further finding that accommodation of her physical handicap by allowing her to re-install a ramp to access her motorized tricycle in the storage closet is necessary to afford her an equal opportunity to use and enjoy her condominium, the court entered judgment in her favor, ordering comprehensive injunctive relief.

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