Lloyd v. Presby's Inspired Life

251 F. Supp. 3d 891, 2017 WL 1549980, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65640
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 1, 2017
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 15-6880
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 251 F. Supp. 3d 891 (Lloyd v. Presby's Inspired Life) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lloyd v. Presby's Inspired Life, 251 F. Supp. 3d 891, 2017 WL 1549980, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65640 (E.D. Pa. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ■

EDUARDO C. ROBRENO, District Judge

This is a case of alleged unlawful discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3619. Plaintiff Dolores Lloyd (“Plaintiff’)) proceeding pro se, brings this action against Presby’s Inspired Life (“Pres-by’s”), the owner of the property where Plaintiff formerly resided, and the property manager of the property, Fatimah Bey (“Bey,” and together with Presby’s, “Defendants”), Defendants filed an answer denying the allegations, deposed Plaintiff, and moved for. summary judgment on all three claims. Plaintiff - opposes the motion. For the reasons discussed below, the Court will grant in part and deny in part Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and grant leave for Defendants to file a second motion for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 66(f)(2)—(3).

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND1

Plaintiff is a former tenant at Interfaith House (“Interfaith”), a building owned by Defendant Presby’s. See Second Am. Compl. at 3, 13, ECF No. 10 [hereinafter SAC].2 Plaintiff became a resident of Interfaith on June 4, 2009. See id. at 3, 6; Defs.’ Mem. Law. Supp. Mot. Summ. J. at 3, ECF No. 19 [hereinafter Defs.’ Mem.]. According to Plaintiff, she was evicted from Interfaith in May 2015, see SAC at 13 ¶ 6, and left Interfaith in June 2015, see id. at 6 ¶ 6.3

In her Second Amended Complaint, Plaintiff alleges, that Defendant Bey, the property manager of Interfaith, (1) discriminated against Plaintiff because she is a Jehovah’s Witness; (2) failed to provide Plaintiff with a handicapped-accessible apartment, which Plaintiff required to accommodate her permanent physical disability; and (3) retaliated against Plaintiff after she filed religious discrimination complaints with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) and the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission (“the PHRC”). Defendants vigorously deny all of Plaintiffs allegations relating to the alleged religious discrimination, failure to accommodate Plaintiffs .disability, and retaliation. See Defs.’ Mem. at 3-4. However, Defendants admit that Plaintiff filed complaints with HUD and the PHRC, and they have filed copies of documentation related to those complaints. See id.

With respect to Plaintiffs religious discrimination claim,' she alleges that Bey (1) prohibited Jehovah’s Witnesses, including Plaintiff, from hosting religious or personal meetings in the main lobby, yard, or kitchen, while permitting tenants of other religious faiths to host such meetings; (2) required tenants to attend “mandatory” political meetings, even though the Jeho[895]*895vah’s Witness faith prohibits participation in politics; (3) gave preferential treatment in housing to non-Jehovah’s Witness tenants; and (4) refused to allow Plaintiff to leave religious information in the lobby, while allowing other non-Jehovah’s Witness tenants to leave their religious information in the lobby. See SAC at 2-6, Plaintiff alleges that she asked to hold a religious service in the main lobby in 2010 after a friend’s mother passed away, and Bey refused the request. See id. at 5 ¶ 4. In contrast, Plaintiff alleges, other religious groups were permitted to hold Sunday service meetings and Bible study groups at Interfaith on a regular basis. See id. at 4 ¶ 1. Plaintiff also alleges.that Bey stated over the intercom system that Plaintiff should place her religious magazines “in the trash where they belong.” Id. at 6 ¶ 4.

With respect to her reasonable accommodations claim, Plaintiff alleges that she originally applied for a large pne-bedroom, handicapped-accessible apartment in 2008. See id. at 2-3. According to Plaintiff, she accepted an efficiency apartment in 2009 because Bey promised Plaintiff that she would be transferred to a handicapped-accessible apartment as soon as one became available. See id. at 3 ¶ 6. Plaintiff claims that her physicians sent letters to Bey confirming Plaintiffs permanent physical disability in 2009 and 2013. See id. at 3 ¶4. Despite this documentation, Plaintiff claims, Bey refused to transfer Plaintiff to an accessible apartment, in part because Plaintiff is a Jehovah’s Witness.4 See id. at 3 ¶ 3.

According to Plaintiff, she filed complaints with HUD and the PHRC in August 2012 relating to Bey’s discrimination against her.5 See id., at 6. Plaintiff claims that following her filing of the' complaints with HUD and the PHRC, Bey and other, unnamed staff members began retaliating against her. See SAC at 7 ¶ 4. According to Plaintiff, the retaliation included, inter alia, Bey and other Interfaith staff members (1) entering Plaintiffs apartment and damaging her property, including breaking Plaintiffs water heater and faucet, spreading chemicals, garbage, and feces on Plaintiffs belongings, and contaminating Plaintiffs food; (2) attempting to poison Plaintiff; (3) intercepting and Stealing Plaintiffs mail and medication; and (4) sabotaging' Plaintiffs application for affordable housing, causing Plaintiff to be evicted from the building. See id. at 7-14. Plaintiff claims that she sustained numerous injuries as a result of Bey’s creation of unsanitary conditions in Plaintiffs apartment and attempt to poison her, including ring worms, breathing problems, and injuries requiring open heart surgery. See id. at 10-11.

In May 2014, according to Plaintiff, Bey withheld documents relating to Plaintiffs application for annual recertification for a housing subsidy from HUD, and then failed to submit Plaintiffs application in a timely manner, causing Plaintiff to lose her [896]*896HUD subsidy.6 See id. at 13 ¶¶ 1-5. Plaintiff alleges that after she lost her subsidy, Bey raised Plaintiffs rent to the full market rate, even though Bey knew that Plaintiff could pay only 30 percent of the market rate for the apartment without the HUD subsidy. See id. at 13 ¶ 4. Plaintiff could not pay the new rental rate, and, as a result, she was evicted in May 2015. See id. at 13 ¶ 6.

On September 30, 2014, HUD issued a Letter of Findings in response to Plaintiffs complaint alleging religious discrimination and failure to accommodate Plaintiffs disability (the “HUD Findings Letter”). See HUD Findings Letter, Sept. 30, 2014, Defs.’ Mot. Ex. C, ECF No. 19-5. In the letter, HUD stated that, following an investigation, it made a determination of no probable cause with respect to all of the allegations in Plaintiffs HUD complaint. See id. In response to the HUD Findings Letter, Plaintiff submitted a timely request for review, which HUD addressed in a final letter of determination dated May 20, 2015 (the “HUD Final Letter”).7 See HUD Letter of Determination, May 20, 2015, Defs.’ Mot. Ex. F, ECF No. 19-8. In the final letter, HUD noted that Plaintiff asserted that the HUD investigator did not properly investigate the complaint and did not talk to all of Plaintiffs witnesses. See id. at 3. HUD found that, while Plaintiff did note on her initial housing application that she had a physical disability and received Social Security Disability Income, there was no evidence that Plaintiff had requested a reasonable accommodation because of her physical disability when she asked to move to a different apartment. See id at 3-4.

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251 F. Supp. 3d 891, 2017 WL 1549980, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65640, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lloyd-v-presbys-inspired-life-paed-2017.