WHAT IS A 'REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION' FOR DISABLED? WHAT BOARDS MUST KNOW!

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The commission explained that these were the reasons it disagreed with the findings of the administrative law judge and determined that entering through the side door was significantly different from being able to enter through the front door. Accordingly, it found that the side entrance afforded "unequal and segregated access" to the building.

The court explained that an administrative agency's construction and interpretation of its own regulations and the statute under which it functioned were entitled to "great deference." In proceedings such as this (brought under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules of New York), courts do not have the right to review facts other than to determine if there was substantial evidence in the record to support the finding. The courts could not interfere with the administrative agency's decision unless there was no rational basis for the decision or the decision was arbitrary and capricious. Specifically, the court explained, a decision of an administrative agency that did not follow its own precedent would be considered arbitrary and capricious, unless the agency explained why the determinations were different.

Fine Detail

The court next discussed the New York City Administrative Code, which directed that findings of the commission were conclusive if supported by sufficient evidence, which the court said was true here. Next came discussion of the fines and damages that the commission had imposed. The commission had awarded Rose compensatory damages of $1,000 for damage to his motorized scooter when using the non-compliant entrance and damages of $50,000 for "mental anguish."

An award for mental anguish may be made and may be based solely on the testimony of the one who has complained. Here, the commission determined that Rose was wrongly denied access to the front entrance of the building for two-and-a-half years after his initial request for an accommodation. Rose also testified that there were many instances where he was "caught in the elements for up to 45 minutes" while he waited for assistance. He asserted that he had to be aware of when he arrived home so that others would be entering or leaving the building.

The court found the award of $50,000 excessive. Even though it took two years, Riverbay looked at possible accommodations during that time. The court reduced the $50,000 award for mental anguish to $15,000.

The court also considered the commission's requirement that Riverbay pay a fine of $50,000. The fine was imposed under the section of the New York City statute that allowed the commission to "vindicate the public interest." The court explained that this penalty was not intended to be paid to the person who complained, but was designed to punish the violator. These penalties were typically reserved for unlawful discrimination that was the result of a willful, wanton, or malicious act. There was no indication here that Riverbay's actions were malicious. However, some punitive fine was warranted because Riverbay's actions affected others in Co-op City. The court reduced the fine from $50,000 to $5,000.

Comment: Our experience has been that the courts have been somewhat inconsistent in determining what constitutes a reasonable accommodation and, more to the point, who gets to determine what is "reasonable" — the person requesting the accommodation or the building owner. The court here adopted the commission's determination that, in a circumstance where material differences were found between gaining access through the front door and the side door and where the resident objected to access through the side door, it was improper for the cooperative corporation to fail to modify the front door.

While case law is not entirely clear when it comes to reasonable accommodation requests, we do believe that a cooperative or condominium must consider the specific request of the resident and the advice of the building's expert when making its determination concerning a reasonable accommodation.

Richard Siegler is a partner in the New York City law firm of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. Dale J. Degenshein is a special counsel for that firm.

Illustration by Liza Donnelly

Adapted from Habitat February 2012. For the complete article and more, join our Archive >>