U.S. Department
of Justice
Housing And Civil Enforcement Cases Documents
Burtis M. Dougherty
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Housing and Civil Enforcement
Section - Northwest Building
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530
Telephone: (202) 514-4737
Facsimile: (202) 514-1116
Email: burtis.m.dougherty@usdoj.gov
For the plaintiff United States of America
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
v. Case Number:
S-SIXTEEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP;
J.R. SIMPLOT; S-SIXTEEN
MANAGEMENT, LLC; SIMPLOT
CONSTRUCTION, INC.; TITAN
CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION; COMPLAINT
ARMSTRONG ARCHITECTS, PA;
HUBBLE ENGINEERING, INC.;
Defendants.
The United States of America alleges:
1. This action is brought by the United States to enforce the Fair Housing Act ("FHA"), 42 U.S.C. §§3601-3619,and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act("ADA"),42 U.S.C. §§12181-12189.
Jurisdiction and Venue
2. This Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§1331 and 1345, 42 U.S.C. §3614(a), and 42 U.S.C. §12188(b)(1)(B).
3. Venue is proper in that the claims alleged herein arose in the District of Idaho.
Subject Property
4. The Village at Columbia Apartments ("Columbia Village") are located at 2500 East Red Cedar Lane in Boise, Idaho, in the District of Idaho. Columbia Village consists of twenty-five buildings containing a total of approximately 254 apartments and one clubhouse building. The apartments are located in two and three story non-elevator buildings. One hundred of the apartments are located on the ground floor. One apartment unit has been designated for corporate rental usage.
5. Columbia Village was designed and constructed for first occupancy after March 13, 1991. Each building at Columbia Village, other than the clubhouse, is a dwelling within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. §3602(b).
6. Each of the ground-floor apartments at Columbia Village is a "covered multifamily dwelling" within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. §3604(f)(7)(A). Both the ground-floor apartments and the public and common use areas at Columbia Village are subject to the design and construction requirements of 42 U.S.C. §3604(f)(3)(C) and its implementing regulations.
7. The public and common use areas at Columbia Village, including the clubhouse/rental office and the one apartment reserved for corporate rental usage, were designed and constructed for first occupancy after January 26, 1993.
8. The clubhouse/rental office and the one apartment which is reserved for corporate rental usage at Columbia Village are public accommodations within the meaning of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. §12181(7).
9. Defendant S-Sixteen Limited Partnership has owned Columbia Village since the time of its design and construction. At the time of Columbia Village's initial design and construction, defendant J.R. Simplot was the general partner of S-Sixteen Limited Partnership. At the present time, defendant S-Sixteen Management, LLC is the general partner of S-Sixteen Limited Partnership.
10. Defendant Simplot Construction, Inc. is an Idaho corporation with its principal place of business in Boise, Idaho. Simplot Construction was, in part, responsible for the construction of Columbia Village.
11. Defendant Titan Construction, Inc. is a Washington corporation which is licensed to and conducts business in Idaho and was, in part, responsible for the construction of Columbia Village.
12. Defendant Hubble Engineering, Inc. is an Idaho corporation with its principal place of business in Meridian, Idaho. Hubble Engineering was responsible for site engineering at Columbia Village.
13. Defendant Armstrong Architects, P.A. is an Idaho corporation with its principle place of business in Boise, Idaho. Defendant Armstrong Architects, P.A. designed Columbia Village.
Fair Housing Act Pattern or Practice Claim
14. The defendants have failed to design and construct Columbia Village so that:
(a) the public use and common use portions are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities;
(b) all doors within the ground floor units are sufficiently wide to allow passage by persons with disabilities who use wheelchairs; and
(c) the ground floor units contain the following features of adaptive design: (i) an accessible route into and through the dwelling; (ii) electrical outlets, thermostats and other environmental controls in accessible locations; (iii) reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow later installation of grab bars; and (iv) usable bathrooms and kitchens such that an individual using a wheelchair can maneuver about the space and access the fixtures and their controls.
15. The defendants, through the actions referred to in the preceding paragraph, have:
a. Discriminated in the rental of, or otherwise made unavailable or denied, dwellings to persons because of handicap, in violation of 42 U.S.C. §3604(f)(1);
b. Discriminated against persons in the terms, conditions, or privileges of rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection there-with, because of handicap, in violation of 42 U.S.C. §3604(f)(2); and
c. Failed to design and construct dwellings in compliance with the accessibility and adaptability features mandated by 42 U.S.C. §3604(f)(3)(C).
16. The conduct of the defendants described above constitutes:
a. A pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of rights granted by the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§3601-3619; and
b. A denial to a group of persons of rights granted by the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§3601-3619, which denial raises an issue of general public importance.
17. Persons who have been the victims of the defendants' discriminatory housing practices are aggrieved persons as defined by 42 U.S.C. §3602(i) and have suffered injuries as a result of the defendants' conduct described above.
18. The defendants' conduct described above was intentional, willful, and taken in disregard for the rights of others.
19. The defendants have failed to design and construct Columbia Village so that the rental office/clubhouse and the one apartment used for corporate rentals are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, as required by 42 U.S.C. §12183(a)(1) and the Department of Justice's regulations implementing Title III of the ADA, 28 C.F.R. Part 36, including the Standards for Accessible Design, 28 C.F.R. Part 36, Appendix A ("the Standards"). See 28 C.F.R. §§36.401 and 36.406.
20. The conduct of the defendants described in the pre-ceding paragraph constitutes:
a. a pattern or practice of discrimination within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. §12188(b)(1)(B)(i) and 28 C.F.R. §36.503(a); and
b. unlawful discrimination that raises an issue of general public importance within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. §12188(b)(1)(B)(ii) and 28 C.F.R. §36.503(b).
21. Persons who have been the victims of the defendants' discriminatory practices are aggrieved persons within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. §12188(b)(2)(B) and have suffered injuries as a result of the defendants' conduct described above.
22. The defendants' conduct described above was intentional, willful, and taken in disregard for the rights of others.
WHEREFORE, the United States prays that the Court enter an order that:
1. Declares that the defendants' policies and practices, as alleged herein, violate the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act;
2. Enjoins the defendants, their officers, employees, agents, successors, and all other persons in active concert or participation with any of them, from:
a. Failing or refusing to bring the ground floor units and public use and common use areas at Columbia Village into compliance with the requirements of the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §3604(f)(3)(C);
b. Failing or refusing to bring the rental office and any other public accommodations at Columbia Village into compliance with the requirements of Title III of the ADA and the Department of Justice's regulations implementing Title III, including the Standards for Accessible Design;
c. Failing or refusing to take such affirmative steps as may be necessary to restore, as nearly as practicable, the victims of the defendants' unlawful practices to the position they would have been in but for the discriminatory conduct;
d. Designing or constructing covered multifamily dwellings in the future that do not contain the accessibility and adaptability features required by 42 U.S.C. §3604(f)(3)(C); and
e. Designing or constructing public accommodations in the future that are not readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, as required by Title III of the ADA and the Department of Justice's regulations implementing Title III, including the Standards for Accessible Design.
3. Awards such damages as would fully compensate each person aggrieved by the defendants' discriminatory practices for his or her injuries resulting from the defendants' discriminatory conduct, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §3614(d)(1)(B) and 42 U.S.C. §12188(b)(2)(B).
4. Awards punitive damages to each person aggrieved by the defendants' discriminatory housing practices because of the intentional and willful nature of the defendants' conduct, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §3614(d)(1)(B); and
5. Assesses a civil penalty against each defendant in an amount authorized by 42 U.S.C. §3614(d)(1)(C) and 28 C.F.R. Part 85, and in an amount authorized by 42 U.S.C. §12188(b)(2)(C), in order to vindicate the public interest.
The United States further prays for such additional relief as the interests of justice may require.
| JOHN ASHCROFT Attorney General |
|
| THOMAS E. MOSS United States Attorney |
______________________________ RALPH F. BOYD, JR Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division |
| ______________________________ MARC HAWS Assistant United States Attorney Wells Fargo Center, Suite 201 877 West Main Street Boise, Idaho 83702 (208)334-1211 |
______________________________ JOAN A. MAGAGNA Chief, Housing and Civil Enforcement Section
|
Document Filed: April 11, 2003 > >