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SAWHORSE
Private home rentals win ADA battle
More lawsuits may follow
By JUDI BOWERS
Reporter
Published: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 7:16 AM PDT
Private home rental management companies and their owners are dancing a happy jig, especially Joyce Reed and Kathy Armsby. They were granted a motion for summary judgment stating management companies are not required to ensure that the rental homes they manage are compliant with the American Disabilities Act.
But while the management companies may be dancing, homeowners may want to hold on to their boogie shoes.
“(Joyce) Reed and (Kathy) Armsby successfully pointed the finger at the homeowners,” said T. Matthew Phillips, attorney for the plaintiff, Ron O’Byrne.
In November 2009, Phillips filed suit against Joyce Reed of Grey Squirrel Resort and Kathy Armsby of Village Reservation Service in Big Bear Lake. The suit was filed on behalf of O’Byrne, who is disabled. The city of Big Bear Lake and Does 1-10 were also named.
The suit claimed O’Byrne e-mailed Reed and Armsby’s private home rental management companies requesting to rent an ADA compliant house. He alleges both companies said they did not have ADA compliant houses.
Private home rentals are homes rented for periods of less than 30 days. The city of Big Bear Lake has an ordinance that governs the program.
To file suit under ADA, the disabled person must be denied access, which O’Byrne claims he was.
O’Byrne named the city of Big Bear Lake as a defendant claiming the city, under its private home rental ordinance, should require rental companies to provide ADA-compliant houses for rent. The city was dismissed as a defendant in February 2010. Reed and Armsby filed a motion for summary judgment on June 14, 2010. The motion was granted Aug. 6.
The ADA requires a person to be an operator of a place of public accommodations to be responsible for implementing ADA compliance. Phillips argued that Reed and Armsby are agents, but the relationship with the homeowners they represent makes them operators. The defense argued that as agents the managers are not operators.
Judge Dolly M. Gee, of the U.S. District Court, stated in her ruling that to operate means to put or keep in operation. The defendants are not authorized to make structural modifications to the vacation rental homes to render the homes ADA compliant. Reed and Armsby manage the homes but do not operate the rentals, the court ruled.
According to Michael Perry of CPRPRO, Reed and Armsby produced copies of the contracts they hold with homeowners they represent. The contracts do not provide the managers legal authority to modify the structure. CPRPRO stands for Citizens Protecting the Rights of Property owners and its members include private home rental managers and agents.
Phillips said the judge’s ruling clearly states the responsibility isn’t with the management companies, although he disagrees. “We believe the homeowner and agent are in bed together (regarding ADA compliance),” Phillips said. The judge’s ruling states that the homeowner is in the best position to ensure nondiscrimination, Phillips said.
That said, Phillips declined to comment when asked if he plans to file suit against every homeowner in the city of Big Bear Lake who rents the house as a short-term rental unit. He said it’s too early to tell at this point what the next step will be. Asked if his client, O’Byrne, plans to pursue the suit further, Phillips said, “There’s nothing there ... as far as direction (from the client). So, no comment.”
More lawsuits may follow
By JUDI BOWERS
Reporter
Published: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 7:16 AM PDT
Private home rental management companies and their owners are dancing a happy jig, especially Joyce Reed and Kathy Armsby. They were granted a motion for summary judgment stating management companies are not required to ensure that the rental homes they manage are compliant with the American Disabilities Act.
But while the management companies may be dancing, homeowners may want to hold on to their boogie shoes.
“(Joyce) Reed and (Kathy) Armsby successfully pointed the finger at the homeowners,” said T. Matthew Phillips, attorney for the plaintiff, Ron O’Byrne.
In November 2009, Phillips filed suit against Joyce Reed of Grey Squirrel Resort and Kathy Armsby of Village Reservation Service in Big Bear Lake. The suit was filed on behalf of O’Byrne, who is disabled. The city of Big Bear Lake and Does 1-10 were also named.
The suit claimed O’Byrne e-mailed Reed and Armsby’s private home rental management companies requesting to rent an ADA compliant house. He alleges both companies said they did not have ADA compliant houses.
Private home rentals are homes rented for periods of less than 30 days. The city of Big Bear Lake has an ordinance that governs the program.
To file suit under ADA, the disabled person must be denied access, which O’Byrne claims he was.
O’Byrne named the city of Big Bear Lake as a defendant claiming the city, under its private home rental ordinance, should require rental companies to provide ADA-compliant houses for rent. The city was dismissed as a defendant in February 2010. Reed and Armsby filed a motion for summary judgment on June 14, 2010. The motion was granted Aug. 6.
The ADA requires a person to be an operator of a place of public accommodations to be responsible for implementing ADA compliance. Phillips argued that Reed and Armsby are agents, but the relationship with the homeowners they represent makes them operators. The defense argued that as agents the managers are not operators.
Judge Dolly M. Gee, of the U.S. District Court, stated in her ruling that to operate means to put or keep in operation. The defendants are not authorized to make structural modifications to the vacation rental homes to render the homes ADA compliant. Reed and Armsby manage the homes but do not operate the rentals, the court ruled.
According to Michael Perry of CPRPRO, Reed and Armsby produced copies of the contracts they hold with homeowners they represent. The contracts do not provide the managers legal authority to modify the structure. CPRPRO stands for Citizens Protecting the Rights of Property owners and its members include private home rental managers and agents.
Phillips said the judge’s ruling clearly states the responsibility isn’t with the management companies, although he disagrees. “We believe the homeowner and agent are in bed together (regarding ADA compliance),” Phillips said. The judge’s ruling states that the homeowner is in the best position to ensure nondiscrimination, Phillips said.
That said, Phillips declined to comment when asked if he plans to file suit against every homeowner in the city of Big Bear Lake who rents the house as a short-term rental unit. He said it’s too early to tell at this point what the next step will be. Asked if his client, O’Byrne, plans to pursue the suit further, Phillips said, “There’s nothing there ... as far as direction (from the client). So, no comment.”