Ashley Christina McClendon v. Peter Bresler

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: March 31, 2023
• Docket: 2:20-cv-07758
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

2 JS6 3 4 5 6

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10

11 Ashley Christina McClendon, Case No. 2:20-cv-07758-RGK-GJS 12

13 Plaintiff, 14 v. 15 [Proposed] Final Judgment [78] 16 Peter Bresler, as an Individual and 17 as the Trustee of the Bresler Trust,

18 Defendant. 19 20 21 22 23

28 1 On August 26, 2020, Ashley McClendon ("Plaintiff') filed a 2 Complaint against Peter Bresler ("Defendant"), individually and as the 3 trustee of the Bresler Trust, alleging discrimination in the rental of a 4 dwelling based upon a failure to reasonably accommodate her 5 disability and an indication of an impermissible preference based on 6 disability. (ECF No. 1.) 7 On October 21, 2021, the Court granted partial summary 8 judgment for Defendant, finding that Plaintiff’s claims for failure to 9 reasonably accommodate were foreclosed for lack of reasonable 10 knowledge of Plaintiff’s disability. (ECF No. 52.) The Court then held 11 a court trial on the briefs on Plaintiff’s remaining claims, ultimately 12 finding in favor of Defendant. (ECF No. 59.) Plaintiff appealed both 13 rulings to the Ninth Circuit. 14 The Ninth Circuit reversed the Court's grant of summary 15 judgment as to the reasonable accommodation claim, finding that "[a] 16 genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether Bresler knew or 17 reasonably should have been expected to know of McClendon's 18 disability." McClendon v. Bresler, 2022 WL 17958633, at *1 (9th Cir. 19 Dec. 27, 2022). The case was remanded for a trial on Plaintiff’s 20 remaining claims for (1) failure to reasonably accommodate her 21 disability in violation of the Fair Housing Amendments Act ("FHAA") 22 (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B)); (2) failure to reasonably accommodate 23 her disability in violation of California's Fair Employment and 24 Housing Act ("FEHA") (Cal. Gov't Code§ 12955(c)); and (3) 25 negligence. 26 At the pretrial conference, the parties stipulated to a court trial 27 on the briefs. On March 30, 2023, after considering the parties’ briefs 28 and the relevant evidence, the Court issued its Order re: Court Trial on 1 the Briefs, setting forth its Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law 2 pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a). (ECF No. 77.) The 3 Court found, based on the evidence and argument presented, that 4 Plaintiff had proven that Defendant reasonably should have known of 5 Plaintiff’s handicap and accordingly, violated the reasonable 6 accommodation provisions of the FHAA (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B)) 7 and the FEHA (Cal. Gov't Code § 12927(c)(1).) (ECF No. 77 at 3-5.) 8 The Court also found that Plaintiff had proven her negligence claim. 9 (Id. at 5.) 10 The Court is authorized to award damages to Plaintiff for violation of 11 her rights under the FHAA (42 U.S.C. § 3613(c)(1)), the FEHA (Gov't Code 12 § 12989.2), and for negligence. The Court found Defendant to be liable to 13 Plaintiff in the amount of fourteen thousand, eight hundred dollars ($14,800) 14 to compensate her for the out-of-pocket losses she sustained in securing 15 alternative housing. (ECF No. 77 at 5-6.) 16 The Court declined to order injunctive relief as requested by Plaintiff, 17 finding there to be minimal risk of future violations by Defendant. (ECF No. 18 77 at 6-7.) 19 20 NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED 21 AND DECREED that: 22 23 1. Judgment is entered in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant 24 on Plaintiff’s FHAA, FEHA and negligence claims; 25 2. Defendant shall pay Plaintiff compensatory damages in the 26 amount of fourteen thousand, eight hundred dollars ($14,800). Defendant 27 shall satisfy this obligation within thirty (30) days after entry of this Final 28 Judgment. 1 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff may file a fee application 2 | with this Court and may file an application to tax costs in accordance with 3 | Local Rules. 4 5 Entry of this Final Judgment is in the public interest. There being no 6 | just reason for delay, the Clerk is directed to enter judgment immediately. 7 8 9 Dated: 3/31/2023 d A Karena, 10 Honorable R. Gary Klausner 11 United States District Judge 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28