In this week's tip, we analyze the lessons from a New York City co-op that has settled with the feds for the largest ever financial penalty on a building that denied its residents' rights to service animals.
Meril Lesser had birds in her apartment in The Rutherford, a Gramercy Park co-op, for 20 years. She moved in with two and added a third in 2015.
Reports say the birds' shrieking and squawking disturbed other residents. When the board began enforcement to remove the birds, it says that's when Lesser first claimed they were emotional support animals (the prosecutors claim otherwise).
Predictably, this whole situation spilled into litigation. At one point, Lesser generated a buyer for her unit. Co-op agreements generally allow boards to approve new buyers. In this case, the co-op rejected Lesser's buyer. She then alleged retaliation.
In August, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement between the co-op board and Lesser, finding that there was “reasonable cause” to believe the board had discriminated and retaliated against Lesser. The board never conducted a noise testing or soundproofing analysis, apparently didn't take steps necessary to investigate Lesser's emotional service
animal claim, and didn't have a reasonable accommodation policy.
The co-op agreed to pay Lesser $165,000 in damages and to buy her apartment for $585,000. The co-op must also adopt a reasonable accommodation policy applicable when residents
request an emotional support or service animal. And it's required to submit quarterly reports so the federal government can monitor its ongoing compliance.