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For Immediate Release:
For Further Information:
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June 1, 2011

Office of The Attorney General
- Paula T. Dow, Attorney General
Division on Civil Rights
- Chinh Q. Le, Director

Media Inquiries-
Lee Moore
609-292-4791
Citizen Inquiries-
609-292-4925

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Division on Civil Rights Announces Settlement in Case of Condo Association Accused of Discriminating Against Disabled Resident
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TRENTON – The Division on Civil Rights announced today that a South Jersey condominium association has agreed to pay a medically-disabled resident $10,000 and forgive thousands of dollars more in maintenance fees owed by the woman to resolve allegations that it unlawfully discriminated by failing to accommodate her disability.

Under terms of the settlement, the Mays Landing Village Condominium Association, of Mays Landing, Atlantic County, has agreed to pay longtime resident Mary Lou Frisch $7,528, and also will pay her condominium maintenance fees of $2,472 for the coming year.

The Association has also agreed to forgive an estimated $12,000-$15,000 in outstanding maintenance fees owed by Frisch, to have its officers attend training on the Law Against Discrimination (LAD), and to develop written policies and procedures for addressing future requests for disability accommodation.

The Association also will pay the Division on Civil Rights $5,000 for costs, and has agreed to have its handling of requests for accommodation monitored by the Division for the next two years.

“This is a fair settlement that resolves troubling allegations of discrimination by a condominium association against a disabled resident,” said Division Director Chinh Q. Le. “This case should serve as a message to condo associations and landlords throughout the state: persons with disabilities have a right to a reasonable accommodation, and failure to provide it can result in legal consequences.”

A 23-year resident of Mays Landing Village, Frisch suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease – a debilitating lung illness -- and has a Permanent Disabled Parking Permit issued by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.
Frisch fell behind in her monthly condominium maintenance fees beginning in January 2007 and, in November 2008, the Association suspended her use of common elements at Mays Landing Village including the residents’ parking lot and swimming pool.

As a result Frisch, who had been parking in the residents’ parking lot – in a space designated “handicapped” close to her unit – was forced to park off the premises, and typically had to walk the better part of a mile to get home.

The walk exacerbated her lung condition, and Frisch requested in a November 17, 2008 letter that the Association permit her to continue parking in the residents’ lot -- despite still being in arrears on her fees -- as a reasonable accommodation for her disability. The Association rejected Frisch’s request.

Frisch subsequently filed a complaint with the Division on Civil Rights, which was joined by the State. Citing its own by-laws, the Association maintained it had a right to handle Frisch’s situation as it did. However, a Finding of Probable Cause issued by the Division in January 2010 held that the Association failed to demonstrate that allowing Frisch to use the residents’ parking lot would cause it undue hardship, or that Frisch’s request for accommodation was unreasonable. (The Association had already suspended Frisch’s membership and voting rights, and suspended her access, as well as that of her guests, to the pool, tennis courts and other amenities.)

Director Le thanked Elizabeth Russian, Manager of the Division’s Housing Investigations Unit, for overseeing the Mays Landing Village investigation; Deputy Attorney General Charles Cohen for assisting with preparation of the Finding of Probable Cause, and Deputy Attorney General Beverly Lapsley for negotiating the settlement on behalf of the State.

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