FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE(202) 353-8584
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
TDD (202) 514-1888
LAS VEGAS DEVELOPER AND BUILDER TO
SETTLE ACCESSIBILITY LAWSUIT WITH JUSTICE DEPARTMENTWASHINGTON, D.C.-- A Las Vegas developer and construction company have agreed to pay more than $1 million to modify five condominium developments to provide greater accessibility to persons with disabilities, and to compensate individuals whose condominium units were not accessible, under an agreement reached today with the Justice Department.
The agreement, filed in the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, resolves a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department in December 1997 alleging that Rock Springs Vista Development Corp., Inc, and the J.A. Black Construction Company, Inc, violated the federal Fair Housing Act by failing to make five condominium developments located in Las Vegas and Mesquite, Nevada, accessible to persons with disabilities. Under the Fair Housing Act, multi-family housing complexes with four or more units must include, among other things, accessible common areas, accessible routes in common areas, doors that are wide enough for wheelchairs, thermostats and electrical outlets in accessible locations, and reinforced bathroom walls that can support grab bars.
"People with disabilities have found themselves locked out of communities because they can not find accessible housing. We are committed to ensuring that designers and builders of multi-family housing meet the requirements of the Fair Housing Act so that persons with disabilities have the opportunity to find housing that they need," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "The requirements of the Fair Housing Act are modest, yet their impact for people with disabilities is tremendous."
The Justice Department began investigating the condominiums after receiving three complaints from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Following a thorough investigation, the Justice Department found a number of problems with the units, including steps into common areas and the individual units, pathways that were too steep for wheelchairs to maneuver, inadequate curb cuts, and parking lots that lacked adequate accessible parking spaces. The Justice Department also alleged that the individual condominium units had doors that were too narrow, bathrooms that were too small to be used by individuals who use wheelchairs, and thermostats and electrical outlets in inaccessible locations.
"Of the 346 units in this case covered by the design and construction requirements of the FHA, approximately 15% of the owners came forward to request retrofits to bring their units into compliance with the Act, thus illustrating the tremendous need in the Las Vegas area for accessible housing," added Kathryn E. Landreth, U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada. "This office remains committed to assuring that the Fair Housing Act requirements are enforced."
As a result of the agreement, the defendants will:
- pay $281,500 to individual unit owners who suffered damages as a result of their units not having accessible features;
- retrofit the individual condominium units of owners who have come forward seeking retrofits at an approximate cost of $159,000;
- retrofit the common areas of the five developments to provide accessibility to persons with disabilities at an approximate cost of $544,000; and,
- pay up to $100,000 into a fund which will be used to retrofit the units of those owners who have not yet come forward to request them.
Additionally, the agreement requires that the defendants certify to the Justice Department that any future construction complies with the Act.
Three of the properties involved in this lawsuit, Rock Springs Vista 7, Rock Springs Vista 8, and Rock Springs Vista 9, are located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The other two properties, Rock Springs Vista Mesquite 1 and Rock Springs Vista Mesquite 2, are located in Mesquite, Nevada.
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