|
TRENTON
– The Division on Civil Rights announced
today it has issued a Finding of Probable
Cause against a Hudson County apartment
building owner and a real estate agency
that lists his rental units for allegedly
refusing housing to a couple who own a medically-prescribed
service dog.
Named
as Respondents in the Finding of Probable
Cause are landlord Ray Saoud, who owns a
nine-unit apartment building on Maple Street
in Secaucus, and Peterson Real Estate, also
of Secaucus.
The
two are accused of unlawfully discriminating
against prospective renters Khalill and
Jackie Smart. Jackie Smart is a breast cancer
patient also diagnosed as having post-traumatic
stress disorder as a result of her illness
and treatment. She and her husband sought
to rent one of Saoud’s advertised
apartments in December 2009, but were denied.
The denial came after Khalill Smart advised
an agent of Peterson Real Estate that the
couple intended to live with an emotional
support dog prescribed for Jackie Smart
by her treating physician to help deal with
her illness and related mental disability.
A
Finding of Probable Cause does not resolve
a civil rights complaint. Rather, it means
the State has concluded its preliminary
investigation and determined there is sufficient
evidence to support a reasonable suspicion
the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination
(LAD) has been violated.
“There
is no ‘second class citizenship’
for people with disabilities, and there
is no room in the rental housing industry
for the type of discrimination alleged here,”
said Division Director Chinh Q. Le. “
Neither landlords nor real estate agents
may refuse housing to prospective tenants
because of their medically-prescribed service
animals without first showing that such
animals impose an undue hardship.”
According to the Finding of Probable Cause,
an agent of Peterson Real Estate showed
Khalill Smart a one-bedroom apartment advertised
by Saoud on December 19, 2009. Khalill Smart
advised the agent he and his wife were interested
in renting the unit. However, when Khalill
Smart noted that his wife required a service
dog to assist with her disability, the agent
allegedly responded that the landlord might
not be willing to rent to them because of
the dog.
Subsequently, both Peterson Real Estate
and Saoud allegedly failed to respond to
follow-up telephone calls made by Khalill
Smart.
Khalill
Smart, who is African-American, initially
alleged that race also played a role in
the denial, but the Division’s investigation
found insufficient evidence to support such
a claim, according to the Finding of Probable
Cause .
However,
in its answer to the Smarts’ Complaint,
Peterson Real Estate did acknowledge that
“this matter was never about racial
discrimination, it was about a dog.”
The agency also claimed that it passed along
to Saoud documentation, provided by the
Smarts, that the dog at issue was a medically-prescribed
service animal.
The
Division’s own investigation established
that Peterson Real Estate received a fax
on Dec. 22, 2009 from Khalill Smart. The
fax was directed to the same agent who had
shown him Soud’s apartment. It contained
literature on the right of tenants to keep
emotional support animals in “no pets”
housing, as well as a note from Jackie Smart’s
radiation oncologist confirming that her
condition meets the definition of a disability
under several different laws, and that a
service dog has been prescribed to help
her cope with her disability.
Ray
Saoud, who admitted to telling the real
estate agent he would rent to the Smarts
as long as they did not have a dog, denied
ever receiving documentation that Jackie
Smart’s dog was a medically-prescribed
service animal.
The
LAD provides that each Respondent found
to have committed a violation is subject
to a penalty of up to $10,000. The LAD also
provides for other remedies, including compensatory
damages and injunctive relief, such as changes
in the employer's policies and management/staff
training.
Now
that the Division has issued Findings of
Probable Cause, the case will be referred
for a process known as Conciliation. If
Conciliation is not successful, the matter
will be referred to an Administrative Law
Judge for a hearing on the merits, which
is a non-jury trial. The Administrative
Law Judge will then issue a written Initial
Decision.
Division Director Le thanked
State Investigator Carlos Hernandez for
conducting the investigation and Elizabeth
Russian, Manager of the Housing Investigations
Unit, for supervising it. Director Le also
credited Legal Specialist Edward Haas for
reviewing the Finding of Probable Cause.
### |
