RICHARD J. LEON, United States District Judge.
Plaintiff Evelyn Parham ("plaintiff") brings this suit against CIH Properties, Inc. and Dupont Park Apartments Joint Venture (together "defendants"), seeking damages based on allegations that her car was towed and never returned to her in violation of various federal and local laws. See generally Compl. [Dkt. # 1-1]. Before this Court is defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment [Dkt. # 23] ("Defs.' Mot."). Upon consideration of the parties' pleadings, relevant law, and the entire record in this case, defendants' motion is GRANTED.
For over thirty years, plaintiff has resided with her mother in an apartment at Banneker Place, an apartment complex owned and operated by defendants. PL's Opp'n to Defs.' Mot. for Summ. J. ¶¶ 1 15 [Dkt. # 24] ("PL's Opp'n"); Defs.' Mot. 1. This case arises out of an incident on or before September 30, 2011 when plaintiff's car, a 1987 Mercedes bearing a D.C. handicap tag, was towed from the apartment complex parking lot. PL's Opp'n ¶¶ 3, 5.
Just over three years after these events unfolded, plaintiff brought this action in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia seeking to recover the value of her car, treble damages pursuant to the D.C Consumer Protection Act, and punitive damages. See Compl. at 5. Defendants removed the action to this Court, Notice of Removal [Dkt. # 1], and now move for summary judgment, see Defs.' Mot.
Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings and the record demonstrate that "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The moving party has the initial burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact to be decided with respect to any essential element of the nonmovant's claim. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Once the moving party has met its burden, the nonmovant must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. See id. at 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548. In evaluating a motion for summary judgment, the Court must view the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmovant, giving it the benefit of all justifiable inferences derived from the evidence in the record. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The nonmovant's opposition, however, may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the pleadings, but must be supported by affidavits or other competent evidence. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Thus, by pointing to the absence of evidence sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to the nonmovant's case, a moving party may succeed on summary judgment. Id. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
Defendants move for summary judgment arguing that the record does not contain evidence sufficient to establish the essential elements of plaintiff's claims. See generally Defs.' Mot. I agree.
Plaintiff's first cause of action is for breach of contract. See Compl. ¶¶ 24-25. She supports her claim, however, not with affidavits or competent evidence, but mere allegations that because she was a life-long tenant of Banneker Place, defendants "breached the contract" when they towed her car "out of [the] private parking lot without justifiable reason." PL's Opp'n ¶ 15. Such arguments are too slender a reed upon which to base a property claim of this genre. As defendants point out, plaintiff has utterly failed to provide any competent evidence that a contract existed between defendants and herself. See Defs.' Mot. 2. Indeed, the only potentially relevant contract now before this Court is a 1972 lease agreement signed by Mr. Franklin E. Parham, which explicitly states that parking is not covered by the agreement: "Lesee agrees that parking accommodations are not included in the rental, nor are parking accommodations to be furnished to the Lesee unless a separate express agreement in writing with respect thereto is made between Lessor and Lesee." Defs.' Reply in Supp. of Mot. for Summ. J. ("Defs.' Reply") Ex. 1 at 1 [Dkt. # 25-1].
Plaintiff next lodges a claim of fraudulent misrepresentation. Compl. ¶ 26. To defeat defendant's motion for summary judgment on this claim, plaintiff must point to competent evidence as to each of the elements of fraudulent misrepresentation: "(1) a false representation, (2) in reference to a material fact, (3) made with knowledge of its falsity, (4) and with the intent to deceive, (5) with action taken in reliance upon the representation." Nader v. Allegheny Airlines, Inc., 626 F.2d 1031, 1036 (D.C.Cir.1980). In addition, plaintiff must show that she suffered some injury as a consequence of her reliance on the misrepresentation. Chedick v. Nash, 151 F.3d 1077, 1081 (D.C.Cir.1998). Unfortunately for plaintiff, she has not done so here.
To support her claim for fraudulent misrepresentation, plaintiff simply states that "[d]efendant knowingly made inconsistent and false statements concerning who towed the car and where the car was," and that these misrepresentations caused her to "ran [sic] around to locate her car." PL's Opp'n ¶ 18. Specifically, plaintiff claims that Ms. Jones incorrectly informed her that her car had been towed by MPD. PL's Opp'n ¶ 6. Unfortunately for plaintiff, she has not put forward sufficient evidence to establish that this statement is actionable as a fraudulent misrepresentation.
While Ms. Jones' statement that it was MPD who towed plaintiff's car satisfies
Plaintiff also seeks relief for defendants' alleged "misrepresentations" under the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act ("CPPA"). See Compl. ¶¶ 27-28; PL's Opp'n ¶ 21; D.C. Code § 28-3904(e) ("It shall be a violation of this chapter, whether or not any consumer is in fact misled, deceived or damaged thereby, for any person to: ... (e) misrepresent as to a material fact which has a tendency to mislead."). The CPPA authorizes consumers to bring suits against merchants who employ trade practices that violate District of Columbia law. Id. § 28-3905(k)(1)(A). A "consumer" for purposes of the CPPA is "a person who ... does or would purchase, lease (as lessee), or receive consumer goods or services." Id. § 28-3901(a)(2). A "trade practice" is "any act which does or would create, alter, repair, furnish, make available, provide information about,
As a preliminary matter, it is not at all clear that the CPPA even applies to landlord-tenant relations. Although the CPPA is, "`to say the least, an ambitious piece of legislation, with broad remedial purposes,' it is not clear from its plain language that the statutory scheme, designed to protect consumers, applies to [landlord-tenant relations]." Twin Towers Plaza Tenants Ass'n, Inc. v. Capitol Park Assocs., L.P., 894 A.2d 1113, 1120 (D.C.2006) (quoting DeBerry v. First Gov't Mortg. & Inv'rs Corp., 743 A.2d 699, 700 (D.C.1999) (internal quotations omitted)). While the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has held that a prior version of the CPPA did not create a private right of action for tenants to sue their landlords, Childs v. Purll, 882 A.2d 227, 237-38 (D.C.2005), it has declined to consider whether the statute, as revised in October 2000, does, id. (declining to decide "whether the Council intended ... to expand the private right of action" to cover landlord-tenant relations); see also Twin Towers Plaza, 894 A.2d at 1120.
Finally, plaintiff claims that defendants violated the reasonable accommodation requirement of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") by having her car, which displayed a handicap tag, towed. See Compl. ¶¶ 30-32; PL's Opp'n ¶¶ 23-26. Unfortunately for plaintiff, the ADA is not applicable in this case. Title III of the ADA — the provision relevant to plaintiff's failure to accommodate claim — prohibits discrimination in any "place of public accommodation," 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a), which is defined to include, inter alia, "an inn, hotel, motel, or other place of lodging." 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7)(A). I have previously found, as have a number of courts, that private apartment complexes do not qualify as "public accommodations" for purposes of the ADA. Parham v. CIH Properties, Inc., Civ. No. 14-1613 (RJL), 2015 WL 5294683, at *3 (D.D.C. Sept. 8, 2015) (Leon, J.).
Even assuming, however, that plaintiff had alleged her reasonable accommodation claim under an applicable antidiscrimination law, she has still failed to point to any evidence that defendants refused to reasonably accommodate her disability. Similar to the ADA, the Fair Housing Act ("FHA") and D.C. Human Rights Act ("DCHRA") require reasonable accommodations
Simply put, plaintiff has not proffered any competent evidence to prove any one of these elements. See Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (finding that mere allegations are not sufficient to defeat a motion for summary judgment). Plaintiff's bare claims that she "suffered from a few car accidents and was then disabled from working" and that she has a "handicap tag in her car since 1998" are not sufficient to demonstrate that she has a "disability" as specifically defined by the relevant statutes and that defendants were, or should have been, aware of that disability. PL's Opp'n ¶ 24. Moreover, plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that she made a request for a reasonable accommodation that defendants denied. Her last-minute claims that she has "for years" sent written requests to defendants for a first-floor apartment and "easy access parking space" do not suffice. PL's Opp'n ¶ 27.
For the foregoing reasons, defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED. A separate Order consistent with this decision accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.