Housing And Civil Enforcement Cases Documents

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

           Plaintiff,

v.

DEER RUN MANAGEMENT CO., INC.;
THE GREENS AT BROKEN ARROW
MANAGEMENT CO., INC.; THE GREENS AT
MOORE MANAGEMENT CO., INC.; THE
GREENS AT OWASSO MANAGEMENT CO.,
INC.; THE LINKS AT BIXBY MANAGEMENT
CO., INC.; THE LINKS AT OKLAHOMA
CITY MANAGEMENT CO., INC.;
THE GREENS AT GRAND SUMMIT
MANAGEMENT CO., INC.; THE GREENS
AT SPRINGFIELD MANAGEMENT CO., INC.;
THE GREENS AT SHAWNEE MANAGEMENT
CO., INC.; CRAFTON, TULL & ASSOCIATES;
BOND CONSULTING ENGINEERS, INC.;
LINDSEY CONSTRUCTION CO., INC.; and
FUGITT & ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS, 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 ("the 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 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391 because (a) a number of defendants reside and/or do business in the Western District of Arkansas and (b) all the defendants reside and/or do business in the State of Arkansas.

Defendants

4. Defendants Deer Run Management Co., Inc.; The Greens at Broken Arrow Management Co., Inc.; The Greens at Moore Management Co., Inc.; The Greens at Owasso Management Co., Inc.; The Links at Bixby Management Co., Inc.; The Links at Oklahoma City Management Co., Inc.; The Greens at Grand Summit Management Co., Inc.; The Greens at Springfield Management Co., Inc.; and The Greens at Shawnee Management Co, Inc. conduct business in the Western District of Arkansas. They are incorporated in the state of Arkansas and their principal place of business is located in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

5. Defendant Crafton, Tull & Associates conducts business in the Western District of Arkansas. It is incorporated in the state of Arkansas with its principal place of business located in Rogers, Arkansas.

6. Defendant Bond Consulting Engineers, Inc. conducts business in the Western District of Arkansas. It is incorporated in the state of Arkansas with its principal place of business located in Jacksonville, Arkansas.

7. Defendant Lindsey Construction Co., Inc., conducts business in the Western District of Arkansas. It is incorporated in the state of Arkansas with its principal place of business located in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

8. Defendant Fugitt & Associates Architects, Inc., conducts business in the Western District of Arkansas. It is incorporated in the state of Arkansas with its principal place of business located in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

9. Defendants Lindsey Construction Co., Inc.; Fugitt & Associates Architects, Inc.; Crafton, Tull & Associates; and Deer Run Management Co., Inc., the general partner of Deer Run Apartments, L.P., engaged in the development, construction, design, management, and/or operation of Deer Run Apartments, including public accommodations, located in Claremore, Oklahoma.

10. Defendants Lindsey Construction Co., Inc.; Fugitt & Associates Architects, Inc.; Crafton, Tull & Associates; and The Greens at Broken Arrow Management Co., Inc., the general partner of The Greens at Broken Arrow, L.P., engaged in the development, construction, design, management, and/or operation of The Greens at Broken Arrow apartments, Phases I and II, including public accommodations, located in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

11. Defendants Lindsey Construction Co., Inc.; Fugitt & Associates Architects, Inc.; Crafton, Tull & Associates; and The Greens at Moore Management Co., Inc., the general partner of The Greens at Moore, L.P., engaged in the development, construction, design, management, and/or operation of The Greens at Moore apartments, including public accommodations, located in Moore, Oklahoma.

12. Defendants Lindsey Construction Co., Inc.; Fugitt & Associates Architects, Inc.; Crafton, Tull & Associates; and The Greens at Owasso Management Co., Inc., the general partner of The Greens at Owasso, L.P., engaged in the development, construction, design, management, and/or operation of The Greens at Owasso apartments, Phases I and II, including public accommodations, located in Owasso, Oklahoma.

13. Defendants Lindsey Construction Co., Inc.; Fugitt & Associates Architects, Inc.; Crafton, Tull & Associates; and The Links at Bixby Management Co., Inc., the general partner of The Links at Bixby, L.P., engaged in the development, construction, design, management, and/or operation of The Links on Memorial apartments, Phases I and II, including public accommodations, located in Bixby, Oklahoma.

14. Defendants Lindsey Construction Co., Inc.; Fugitt & Associates Architects, Inc.; Crafton, Tull & Associates; and The Links at Oklahoma City Management Co., Inc., general partner of the Links at Oklahoma City, L.P., engaged in the development, construction, design, management, and/or operation of The Links at Oklahoma City apartments, including public accommodations, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

15. Defendants Lindsey Construction Co., Inc.; Fugitt & Associates Architects, Inc.; and The Greens at Grand Summit Management Co., Inc., the general partner of The Greens at Grand Summit, L.P., engaged in the development, construction, design, management, and/or operation of Grand Summit apartments, including public accommodations, located in Grandview, Missouri.

16. Defendants Lindsey Construction Co., Inc.; Fugitt & Associates Architects, Inc.; Crafton, Tull & Associates; and The Greens at Springfield Management Co., Inc., the general partner of The Greens at Springfield, L.P., engaged in the development, construction, design, management, and/or operation of The Greens at Springfield apartments, including public accommodations, located in Springfield, Missouri.

17. Defendants Lindsey Construction Co., Inc.; Fugitt & Associates Architects, Inc.; and The Greens at Shawnee Management Co, Inc., the general partner of The Greens at Shawnee, L.P., engaged in the development, construction, design, management, and/or operation of The Greens at Shawnee apartments, including public accommodations, located in Shawnee, Kansas.

18. Defendants Lindsey Construction Co., Inc.; Fugitt & Associates Architects, Inc.; and Bond Consulting Engineers, Inc. engaged in the development, construction, design, management, and/or operation of The Greens at Irene apartments, including public accommodations, located in Memphis, Tennessee.

19. Defendants Lindsey Construction Co., Inc.; and Fugitt & Associates Architects, Inc. engaged in the development, construction, design, management, and/or operation of The Greens at McKinney apartments, Phase IA and Phase IB, including public accommodations, located in McKinney, Texas.

20. Each of the apartment complexes specified in paragraphs 10-20 above (hereinafter collectively, "subject properties") were designed and constructed for first occupancy after March 13, 1991. Each building at the subject properties is a dwelling within the meaning of the FHA, 42 U.S.C. § 3602(b).

21. Each of the ground-floor apartments at the subject properties is a "covered multifamily dwelling" within the meaning of the FHA, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(7)(A). Accordingly, the ground floor apartments and the public and common use areas at the subject properties are subject to the design and construction requirements of the FHA, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(C).

22. The subject properties comprise approximately 431 buildings containing residential rental dwellings built since the effective date of the accessible design requirements of the FHA, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(C). These buildings contain approximately 2,586 ground floor units that are subject to the accessibility requirements of the FHA, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(C).

23. The rental offices, clubhouses, corporate apartments, golf clubhouses, and/or golf courses at the subject properties described in paragraphs 10-20 are public accommodations designed and constructed for first occupancy after January 26, 1993, within the meaning of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7).

COUNT ONE

Violation of the Fair Housing Act

24. The defendants have failed to design and construct the subject properties 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 such that an individual using a wheelchair can maneuver about the space.

25. The defendants, through the actions referred to in the preceding paragraph, have:

1. Discriminated in the rental of, or otherwise made unavailable or denied, dwellings to renters because of handicap, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(1);
2. Discriminated against persons in the terms, conditions or privileges of rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection with a dwelling, because of handicap, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(2); and
3. Failed to design and construct dwellings in compliance with the accessibility and adaptability features mandated by 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(C).

26. The conduct of the defendants described above constitutes:

1. 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
2. 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.

27. Defendants' conduct described above has harmed other persons, including individuals with handicaps and persons associated with them.

28. The defendants' conduct described above was intentional, willful, and/or taken in disregard for the rights of others.

COUNT TWO

29. The defendants have failed to design and construct the subject properties so that the rental offices, clubhouses, corporate apartments, golf courses, and/or other places of public accommodation located at the subject properties 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.

30. The conduct of the defendants described in the preceding paragraph constitutes:

1. 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
2. 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).

31. Defendants' conduct as described above has injured other persons, including persons with disabilities and those associated with them.

32. The defendants' conduct described above was intentional, willful, and/or 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, practices, and conduct, 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:

1. Failing or refusing to bring the ground floor units and public use and common use areas at the subject properties into compliance with 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(C);
2. Failing or refusing to bring the rental office and any other public accommodations at the subject properties 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;
3. Failing or refusing to take such affirmative steps as may be necessary to restore, as nearly as practicable, persons harmed by the defendants' unlawful practices to the position they would have been in but for the discriminatory conduct;
4. 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);
5. 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 appropriate monetary damages to each identifiable victim of Defendants' discriminatory conduct pursuant to Section 814(d)(1)(B) of the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3614(d)(1)(B)); and

4. Assesses a civil penalty against each defendant in an amount authorized by 42 U.S.C. § 3614(d)(1)(C), 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

 

____________________________ WILLIAM M. CROMWELL Acting United States Attorney Isaac Parker Federal Building 30 South Sixth Street, Room 216 Forth Smith, AR 72901 (479)783-5125 Phone (479)785-2442 Fax

____________________________ R. ALEXANDER ACOSTA Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division STEVEN H. ROSENBAUM Chief Housing and Civil Enforcement Section JEANINE M. WORDEN Deputy Chief NICOLE PORTER Deputy Chief JE YON JUNG Trial Attorney __________________________ SUSAN BUCKINGHAM REILLY Trial Attorney U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division 950 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20035 (202) 514-4713 Phone (202) 514-1116

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Document Filed: September 29, 2004 > >