Landlord Discriminated Against Wheelchair-Bound Tenant

Disabled tenants, a couple, complained to the local Human Rights Commission (HRC) based on landlord 's disability discrimination. Tenants said that landlord refused to accommodate their disabilities, repeatedly stating that he wouldn't have rented to them had he known that one tenant used a wheelchair and that he would evict them if they continued to complain. The HRC ruled for tenants and ordered landlord to pay $9,500 in compensatory damages, $5,000 in punitive damages, a $10,000 civil penalty, and attorney's fees of $12,700. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that the HRC couldn't impose punitive damages or civil penalties. But the Westchester County Fair Housing Law authorized the agency to do so. And the other damages were supported by substantial evidence. Tenants credibly testified that landlord's refusal to install an adequate ramp caused irreparable damage to tenant's wheelchair, which had to be replaced at a cost of $7,000. Both tenants testified in detail about the inconvenience and stress they suffered as a result of landlord's conduct.

Mukattash v. Human Rights Commission of Westchester County: NYLJ, 7/9/12, p. 20, col. 5 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Rivera, JP, Dickerson, Hall, Cohen, JJ)