Amone v. Aveiro

226 F.R.D. 677, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4601, 2005 WL 639683
CourtDistrict Court, D. Hawaii
DecidedMarch 2, 2005
DocketCiv. No. 04-00508 ACK/BMK
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 226 F.R.D. 677 (Amone v. Aveiro) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Hawaii primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Amone v. Aveiro, 226 F.R.D. 677, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4601, 2005 WL 639683 (D. Haw. 2005).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

BACKGROUND

KAY, District Judge.

I. Factual History

The United States Housing Act requires that shelter costs for tenants residing in federally subsidized public housing projects not exceed 30% of a tenant’s income. 42 U.S.C. § 1437a(l) (2004). Where tenants are directly responsible for the payment of utility service, the supporting federal regulations require public housing authorities (“PHAs”) who operate public housing programs to provide tenants with an allowance for the reasonable utilities consumed by an energy-conservative household of modest circumstance. 24 C.F.R. § 965.501 et seq. (2005). Plaintiffs allege that when utility allowances are calculated properly, the shelter costs for tenants who consume a reasonable amount of utilities do not exceed 30% of their income. (Complaint at 1).

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794(a) (2004)) and its supporting regulations prohibit any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance from discriminating against an otherwise qualified individual with a disability by denying the benefits of the program or activity, solely by reason of his or her disability. To ensure that disabled tenants are not deprived of the benefits that they are entitled to under the United States Housing Act, the United States Department of Housing and Urban [680]*680Development has promulgated regulations requiring PHAs to establish criteria and procedures for granting relief to “elderly, ill, or disabled residents” whose special needs require them to consume utilities in excess of the amounts provided for in the standard utility allowance. 24 C.F.R. § 965.508 (2005). PHAs are required to notify all tenants of the right to receive such relief and the criteria and procedures that will be used to determine whether the tenants are eligible for adjustments. 24 C.F.R. § 965.508.

Plaintiff Mara Amone (“Plaintiff’) is a disabled individual who resides in public housing. As a result of her disability, she uses an oxygen machine for breathing at night, a nebulizer, and an air conditioner. (P.’s Mot. for Class Certification at 6). Plaintiffs monthly income is $572 and her monthly rent is $124, but her actual utility bill is as much as $174 monthly. (P.’s Mot. for Class Certification at 6; Complaint at 10). From the time that Plaintiff moved into the apartment where she currently resides until recently, the utility allowance that she received was $41. (P.’s Mot. for Class Certification at 6-7). Plaintiff alleges that because of the gross insufficiency in the utility allowance that she has been receiving, she has been paying approximately one-half of her income for rent rather than one-third. (P.’s Mot. for Class Certification at 7).

On August 18, 2004, Plaintiff filed her Complaint against Defendants Stephanie Aveiro, in her official capacity as the Director of the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii (“HCDCH”), and HCDCH. HCDCH is a PHA in Hawaii, which receives federal funds to administer public housing programs across the state. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants failed to comply with the requirements of the United states Housing Act § 1437a(l) and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (“HUD”) supporting regulation (24 C.F.R. § 965.508) by (1) failing to provide notice to tenants of public housing informing them that if they were disabled and required increased utility usage as a result of their disability, they may be entitled to an increase in their utilities allowance; and (2) failing to establish and implement rules and procedures to determine what the increased allowance would be.

As a result, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants violated her rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794(a)), the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12102), the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(2)), and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by failing to provide her with the benefits afforded to non-disabled residents, namely shelter costs that do not exceed 30% of her income. Plaintiff alleges that she is representative of a class of present and past disabled federal public housing residents, similarly situated, and prays for certification of a class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.1 Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief directing Defendants to comply with the United States Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, 24 C.F.R. Part 8, and 24 C.F.R. § 965.508 by: (1) promulgating criteria and procedures for adjusting utility allowances for disabled residents with special needs in accordance with the United States Housing Act; (2) notifying public housing residents of the availability of such adjustments; and (3) providing such adjustments where required under governing law. Plaintiffs Motion for Class Certification indicated that she also [681]*681sought to establish the right to compensatory damages for the alleged violation of her rights. (P.’s Mot. for Class Certification at 7). However, at the February 28, 2005 hearing, Plaintiffs counsel represented that Plaintiff is not asking the Court to certify a class as to damages, rather the proposed class seeks to establish an entitlement to “adjustments.” Class members who currently reside in HCDCH public housing will seek to establish the right to receive an adjustment in their prospective rent while the class members who are no longer residing in public housing will simply request a ruling as to whether they were/are entitled to an adjustment. The past residents will then be required to file their own individual suits to recover any amounts to which they are entitled.

Defendants allege that a review of Plaintiffs tenant file by HCDCH staff revealed no documentation of her need for a medical device in her housing unit because of her disability, the use of which might have entitled her to a supplemental allowance. (Defs.’ Mem. in Opp. to Mot. for Class Certification at 5). Defendants further allege that under HCDCH procedures, disabled residents who require medical equipment in their housing unit due to their disability may be eligible for a supplemental utility allowance if their use of the equipment results in excess consumption of electricity.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
226 F.R.D. 677, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4601, 2005 WL 639683, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/amone-v-aveiro-hid-2005.