The Issue The issue is whether the Petition for Relief was timely filed.
Findings Of Fact In January 2008, Petitioner filed a “Housing Discrimination Complaint” with FCHR and/or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The complaint alleged that Respondent discriminated against Petitioner based upon her race (black) and religion (Christian) in its servicing of her home mortgage loan. On or about March 27, 2008, a “Determination” was issued finding no reasonable cause to believe that Respondent committed a discriminatory housing practice against Petitioner. On April 18, 2008, FCHR sent a “Notice of Determination of No Cause” to Petitioner by certified mail No. 7007 1490 0002 5958 0931. Petitioner received the Notice on April 22, 2008, according to the certified mail receipt included in the case file. The Notice advised Petitioner that “FCHR has determined reasonable cause does not exist to believe that a discriminatory housing practice has occurred.” The Notice further advised Petitioner that she could request an administrative hearing, and clearly stated that any such request “must be filed with the FCHR within 30 days of the date of mailing of this Notice.” A “Petition for Relief, in blank” was sent to Petitioner along with the Notice. On May 23, 2008, FCHR received a completed “Petition for Relief” form from Petitioner. The form was signed by Petitioner and dated May 20, 2008. Petitioner stated in her response to the Order to Show Cause that she “never received any paperwork on the above case” and that “the only paperwork that [she] received was on or a about June 9, 2008.”
Recommendation Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that FCHR issue a final order dismissing the Petition for Relief with prejudice. DONE AND ENTERED this 18th day of June, 2008, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. S T. KENT WETHERELL, II Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 18th day of June, 2008.
The Issue The issues in this case are, one, whether Respondent unlawfully discriminated against Petitioner on the basis of his national origin, religion, or handicap in violation of the Florida Fair Housing Act; and, two, whether Respondent subjected Petitioner to acts of intimidation, coercion, or retaliation as a result of Petitioner's exercise, or attempted exercise, of a protected housing right.
Findings Of Fact Petitioner William Kleinschmidt ("Kleinschmidt") owns a unit in the Three Horizons North Condominium. He purchased his condominium in 1999 and has resided there continuously since that time. Respondent Three Horizons North Condominiums, Inc. ("Three Horizons"), manages the property of which Kleinschmidt's condominium is a part. Kleinschmidt and Three Horizons have been involved in a long-standing feud stemming from Kleinschmidt's possession of cats in violation of the condominium's "no pets" policy. Three Horizons has tried since 1999 to compel Kleinschmidt's compliance with the "no pets" policy. The dispute over Kleinschmidt's cats came to a head last year, when a formal administrative hearing was held on Kleinschmidt's first housing discrimination complaint against Respondent. See Kleinschmidt v. Three Horizons Condominium, Inc., 2005 Fla. Div. Adm. Hear. LEXIS 883, DOAH Case No. 04-3873 (May 25, 2005), adopted in toto, FCHR Order No. 05-097 (Fla.Com'n Hum.Rel. Aug. 23, 2005)(Kleinschmidt I). Among other allegations, Petitioner charged in Kleinschmidt I that Three Horizons had unlawfully refused to waive the "no pets" policy to permit his possession of "service animals" (i.e. cats) as an accommodation of his emotional handicap. Kleinschmidt lost that case. Kleinschmidt presently alleges that Three Horizons has discriminated against him on the basis of handicap, national origin, and religion. The undersigned has had some difficulty making sense of Kleinschmidt's allegations. As far as the undersigned can tell, Kleinschmidt alleges that: (1) members of the condominium association's board of directors (and especially the board's treasurer, Ruth Pearson, whose German ancestry Kleinschmidt assumes makes her a Nazi sympathizer hostile to Jewish persons such as himself) have made disparaging comments about him; (2) when he applied to purchase his condominium back in 1999, Three Horizons charged him a $100 screening fee, which should have been only $75; (3) Three Horizon's agents illegally broke into his unit on September 21, 2000, and again on September 21, 2001, stealing personal property each time; (4) before he purchased his unit, Three Horizons agreed to waive the "no pets" policy, which agreement Respondent now refuses to honor; and (5) Three Horizons has engaged in ongoing (but unspecified) acts of intimidation, coercion, and retaliation. There is not a shred of competent, persuasive evidence in the record, direct or circumstantial, upon which a finding of any sort of unlawful housing discrimination could possibly be made. Ultimately, therefore, it is determined that Three Horizons did not commit any prohibited act.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that the FCHR enter a final order finding Three Horizons not liable for housing discrimination and awarding Kleinschmidt no relief. DONE AND ENTERED this 21st day of November, 2006, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. JOHN G. VAN LANINGHAM Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 21st day of November, 2006.
The Issue The issue in this case is whether Respondent unlawfully discriminated against Petitioner on the basis of his race, sex, or handicap in violation of the Florida Fair Housing Act.
Findings Of Fact Petitioner Vincent Hall ("Hall") is a middle-aged black man. Although he alleges that he is handicapped, Hall failed to produce any evidence during the final hearing concerning his alleged disability——or even to identify it.1 Respondent Miami-Dade Housing Agency ("Housing Agency") is a department within Miami-Dade County (the "County"), which is a political subdivision of the State of Florida.2 The County is the public housing authority ("PHA") within its territorial jurisdiction. As the PHA, the County, through its Housing Agency, administers several federally funded housing programs, including the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program ("Section 8"). The County is subject to, and must comply with, the Ann-Marie Adker Consent Decree ("Consent Decree"), which the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered in 1998. The Consent Decree requires the County to give certain preferences in housing programs to eligible black public housing residents who qualify as "mobility pool members." Hall is a former resident of Smathers Plaza, one of the County's public housing developments. (Hall lived in Smathers Plaza for a period of time in 2000, leaving voluntarily in November of that year, at which time he relocated to Palm Beach County, where he continued to reside as of the final hearing.) As a former public housing resident, Hall is a mobility pool member. On December 3, 2007, Hall executed a form called an "Application for Assistance Under the Ann-Marie Adker, Et. Al. Vs. United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and Miami-Dade County Consent Decree," whose purpose is evident from its title. Hall submitted this application to the Housing Agency's Applicant and Leasing Center. By letter dated May 2, 2008, the Housing Agency instructed Hall to appear at the Applicant and Leasing Center on May 15, 2008, for an appointment intended to begin the process of verifying Hall's eligibility for assistance under the Consent Decree. Hall attended this meeting, during which he completed additional paperwork, including a form entitled "Change of Address/Family Size or Special Unit Requirements." One of the questions on this document asked: "Does the Head of Household or other member of the family have a disability?" Hall answered, "No." By signing the document, which Hall did on May 15, 2008, Hall declared "that the information presented [herein] is true and accurate." Despite having disclaimed the existence of any disability, Hall requested that he be provided a live-in aide. Hall was furnished the documents necessary to apply for "reasonable accommodations" such as an aide, which documents included a certificate to be signed by a physician attesting to the disability, but Hall never returned the completed forms. Accordingly, the Housing Agency could not provide Hall a reasonable accommodation and had not done so as of the final hearing. The Housing Agency did, however, authorize the issuance of a Section 8 voucher for Hall, which he picked up on August 21, 2008. The voucher gave Hall 60 days (extendible to a maximum of 120 days) within which to locate an owner willing to participate in Section 8. As of the final hearing, Hall had not found a unit. The County's fair housing center, operated by Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence, Inc. ("HOPE, Inc.") stood ready to assist Hall if he sought help in returning to Miami-Dade County to live. Unfortunately for him, Hall had not taken advantage of the counseling available through HOPE, Inc. There is no competent, persuasive evidence in the record, direct or circumstantial, upon which a finding of any sort of unlawful housing discrimination could be made. Ultimately, therefore, it is determined that the County and, specifically, its Housing Agency, did not commit any prohibited act vis-à-vis Hall.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that the FCHR enter a final order finding the Housing Agency not liable for housing discrimination and awarding Hall no relief. DONE AND ENTERED this 8th day of January, 2009, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. JOHN G. VAN LANINGHAM Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 8th day of January, 2009.
The Issue Whether Respondents discriminated against Petitioner by evicting him from his apartment as alleged in the Petition for Relief filed by Petitioner.
Findings Of Fact Petitioner is an African-American. Prior to his eviction in the fall of 2000, Petitioner occupied a handicapped apartment at Park Place by the Bay (Park Place), an apartment complex located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. By notice dated May 25, 2000, Respondent Park Place, through its management, advised Petitioner that it intended to terminate his tenancy as of August 31, 2000. Petitioner did not surrender his tenancy and, consequently, Respondent Park Place instituted eviction proceedings against him in September 2000. As a result of those eviction proceedings, Respondent Park Place regained possession of the premises and Petitioner was evicted. There was insufficient evidence to establish that Petitioner was evicted for any reason other than the fact that he made threatening statements to the staff of Respondent Park Place. There was no evidence that Petitioner was evicted because of his race.1 There was no evidence that Petitioner was evicted because of a physical handicap.2 There was no evidence that Petitioner was evicted because of his religion.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that the Florida Commission on Human Relations enter a final order dismissing the Petition For Relief. DONE AND ENTERED this 16th day of October, 2002, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. CLAUDE B. ARRINGTON Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 16th day of October, 2002.
The Issue Whether the Florida Commission on Human Relations (“the Commission”) has jurisdiction over Petitioner’s claim against Respondent.
Findings Of Fact The Commission conducted an investigation of GHA’s allegations. That investigation determined that GHA had not been acting as Ms. Duff’s attorney and that the assistance provided to Ms. Duff was mostly clerical in nature. The investigation also determined that GHA suffered no harm related to housing. As a result, the Commission determined that it had no jurisdiction over GHA’s claim. On November 18, 2016, the Commission issued a “Notice of Determination of No Jurisdiction.” In addition to notifying GHA of its decision, the Commission advised GHA that it could challenge its determination by requesting an administrative hearing. GHA filed a Petition for Relief with the Commission on January 30, 2017, and took issue with the Commission’s determination that it lacked jurisdiction over this matter. With regard to the Commission’s determination that GHA was not Ms. Duff’s attorney, GHA stated the following: Patrick Coleman did admit that he was not an attorney, however Patrick Coleman confirmed on several occasions that he and GHA have in fact been Ms. Kelly Duff’s representative by means of a Power of Attorney since May 11, 2016. Please see the attached Power of Attorney signed by Ms. Duff. Patrick Coleman of GHA admitted to not performing traditional phone testing or in person testing at the respondent[‘s] property – that is correct. However, GHA has stated that their Testing Investigation process included an investigation of the respondent’s housing process, including: the Concord Rental Agreement, the Service Animal Addendum, an in depth review of the Concord Rents website and their published documents, and a review of the Reserve at Brookhaven website followed by a review of their published materials. It was GHA’s investigation, recovery, and scrutiny of the Service Animal Responsibility Addendum that uncovered the potentially discriminatory language which prompted an inquiry regarding the Respondent’s policy addressing assistance animals in the pool area. As for the Commission’s determination that GHA’s assistance to Ms. Duff was mostly clerical in nature, GHA stated that it assisted Ms. Duff with protecting her “Fair Housing Rights” in the following ways: (1) interviewed Ms. Duff in order to verify that she was a bona fide victim of discrimination; (2) provided Ms. Duff with fair housing education via a webinar; (3) wrote two reasonable accommodation requests for Ms. Duff; (4) worked with Ms. Duff’s physician in order to draft a letter describing Ms. Duff’s disability and her need for an assistance animal; (5) wrote, reviewed, and approved all written communications from Ms. Duff to Respondent; (6) interviewed Ms. Duff’s employer; (7) wrote and filed Ms. Duff’s fair housing complaint; and (8) represented Ms. Duff during every phone interview conducted by the Commission. The Commission referred the instant case to the Division of Administrative Hearings (“DOAH”) on January 30, 2017. On February 14, 2017, the undersigned sua sponte issued an “Order to Show Cause” requiring GHA to “show cause on or before March 1, 2017, why the instant case should not be dismissed based on a lack of standing.” GHA did not file any response to the Order to Show Cause.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing, it is RECOMMENDED that a final order be entered by the Florida Commission on Human Relations dismissing Gratus Housing Advocates’ Petition for Relief due to a lack of jurisdiction. DONE AND ENTERED this 22nd day of March, 2017, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. S G. W. CHISENHALL Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 22nd day of March, 2017. COPIES FURNISHED: Tammy S. Barton, Agency Clerk Florida Commission on Human Relations Room 110 4075 Esplanade Way Tallahassee, Florida 32399 (eServed) Cheyanne Costilla, General Counsel Florida Commission on Human Relations 4075 Esplanade Way, Room 110 Tallahassee, Florida 32399 (eServed) Patrick Coleman Gratus Housing Advocates, Inc. 3513 Provine Road Mckinney, Texas 75070 Brookhaven Development Land LTD Suite 101 700 West Morse Boulevard Winter Park, Florida 32789 Andrew Kemp-Gerstel, Partner 44 West Flagler Street Miami, Florida 33130 (eServed)
