United States Of America vs. Aqua 388 Community Association et al

Case Background

On April 3, 2023, Plaintiff Emma Adams filed a Fair Housing Act Disability lawsuit in the United States District Court, California Central, Western Division- Los Angeles (Case number: 2:23cv2498). Stanley Blumenfeld, Jr was assigned to the case and lated  it was referred to Magistrate Judge Jean P. Rosenbluth

Cause

Dr. Emma Adams, a woman with paraplegia who uses a motorized wheelchair, purchased a condominium at the Aqua 388 Community in Long Beach, California, in December 2016. The Aqua 388 is a high-rise building with 556 units and 888 parking spaces spread across three underground levels. Dr. Adams’ disability required her to use a modified van with a ramp that needed 8 feet of clearance on the passenger side to deploy. However, the parking space assigned to her unit, W-120, did not provide enough clearance for her to use her van safely.

From January 2017 to June 2018, Dr. Adams made six formal requests to the property management for a reasonable accommodation. She requested an assigned van-accessible parking space. These requests were directed to various parties. They included Rebecca Hawkins (Management Agent), Christopher Harrington (General Manager), and the Aqua 388 Board of Directors. The defendants repeatedly denied her requests, citing various reasons such as first-come, first-served policies, the inability to prioritize her disability over others, and the lack of a “nexus” between her request and her disability, since she used a power wheelchair.

For over three years, Dr. Adams had to search for available accessible spaces each time she returned home, sometimes circling for hours or eating dinner in her car while waiting. The property offered only 19 accessible spaces, of which only 4 were van-accessible. In March 2018, new rules limited parking in accessible spaces to 3 consecutive days. Subsequently, Dr. Adams received multiple parking citations for overstaying in accessible spaces, causing her additional stress and frustration.

Injuries

As a result of the defendants’ actions, Dr. Adams suffered physical pain, emotional distress, and out-of-pocket expenses. She experienced significant stress and frustration from the ongoing parking difficulties and citations. The lack of reliable accessible parking impacted her ability to freely come and go from her home and caused anxiety about whether she would be able to park upon her return. Dr. Adams wasted substantial time searching for parking, diminishing her independence and quality of life due to the defendants’ failure to accommodate her disability.

Damages

The United States seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as monetary damages for Dr. Adams. They request the court to order the defendants to take affirmative steps to prevent future discrimination and to implement policies ensuring compliance with the Fair Housing Act.

Key Arguments and Proceedings

Legal representation

  • Plaintiff(s): Emma Adams
    • Counsel for Plaintiff: Dan Stormer| Brian D. Olney

 

  • Defendant(s):Aqua 388 Community Association | FirstService Residential California, LLC | Rebecca Hawkins | Christopher Harrington | Aqua Maintenance Corporation
    • Counsel for Defendants: Stephen Edward Abraham| Melissa T. Daugherty | Roger Barry Frederickson | Mark Samuel Oknyansky | Mark S. Posard | Christopher Harrington 

Claims

The United States Department of Justice, on behalf of Dr. Adams, alleges that the defendants violated the Fair Housing Act in two primary ways:

  1. They discriminated against Dr. Adams in the terms, conditions, or privileges of the sale of a dwelling. This discrimination also occurred in the provision of services or facilities related to her dwelling because of her disability. The violation stems from their refusal to provide her with an assigned van-accessible parking space. This accommodation was necessary for her to fully use and enjoy her home.
  2. They refused to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services. These accommodations were necessary to afford Dr. Adams an equal opportunity to use and enjoy her dwelling. Specifically, they did not modify their parking policies to assign her a van-accessible space. They had the authority to make this modification under their own Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs).

The complaint alleges that these actions were intentional, willful, and taken in disregard of Dr. Adams’ federally protected rights under the Fair Housing Act. The defendants’ conduct demonstrated a pattern of discrimination and a failure to understand or comply with their obligations under fair housing laws.

Defense

The defendants claimed they offered Dr. Adams an accessible parking space over two years after her initial request. They maintained they acted on their attorney’s advice, who had 30 years of experience. The HOAs argued that parking enforcement was handled by G4S, a non-party security contractor. They asserted that permanently assigning one of the 19 handicap spaces to Dr. Adams, as she requested, would violate the rights of other disabled drivers according to their legal counsel. The defendants contended their actions did not harm Dr. Adams and denied liability for punitive damages. Harrington and FirstService stated they acted under the HOAs’ direction, forwarding the plaintiff’s requests to outside counsel and following their guidance. They argued they lacked the contractual authority to grant the accommodation, which solely belonged to Aqua Maintenance Corporation. The defendants noted that the plaintiff provided no evidence to counter these claims.

Jury Verdict

On August 12, 2024, the jury awarded a total of $9,250,000 in damages. They found all defendants jointly and severally liable for $4,000,000 in emotional distress damages. Additionally, they imposed punitive damages as follows:

  • $4,500,000 against FirstService Residential California LLC
  • $500,000 against Aqua 388 Community Association
  • $250,000 against Aqua Maintenance Corporation

Court Documents:

Available Upon Request