Oak Ridge Care Center v. Racine County, Wis.

896 F. Supp. 867, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12387, 1995 WL 490925
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedAugust 11, 1995
DocketCiv. A. No. 94-C-1328
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 896 F. Supp. 867 (Oak Ridge Care Center v. Racine County, Wis.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Oak Ridge Care Center v. Racine County, Wis., 896 F. Supp. 867, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12387, 1995 WL 490925 (E.D. Wis. 1995).

Opinion

896 F.Supp. 867 (1995)

OAK RIDGE CARE CENTER, INC., Plaintiff,
v.
RACINE COUNTY, WISCONSIN and Town of Yorkville, Wisconsin, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 94-C-1328.

United States District Court, E.D. Wisconsin.

August 11, 1995.

*868 *869 Michael J. Widmann, Welcenbach & Widmann, Milwaukee, WI, for plaintiff.

Mark Janiuk, Corporation Counsel, Victoria L. Kies, Ass't Corp. Counsel, Racine, WI, & Michael J. Cieslewicz, Kasdorf, Lewis & Swietlik, Milwaukee, WI, for Town of Yorkville.

*870 DECISION AND ORDER DENYING MOTIONS TO DISMISS

REYNOLDS, District Judge.

Plaintiff Oak Ridge Care Center, Inc. ("Oak Ridge"), filed this action on November 30, 1994, alleging that defendants violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131 et seq., and the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601 et seq., by refusing to issue a conditional use permit so that a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility could operate on Oak Ridge's property. Defendant Racine County has filed motions to dismiss and defendant Yorkville has filed motions to dismiss and for summary judgment, which the court shall deny. The court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343.

I. Background

A. Facts

Oak Ridge operates an elder care facility on its property in the Town of Yorkville, Racine County, Wisconsin. Oak Ridge operates the elder care facility under an existing nonconforming use agreement with the County because the property is presently zoned as a general farming and residential district. (Am.Compl. ¶ 8/Ex. 2.)

Between 1991 and 1994, Oak Ridge attempted to sell its property but received only three inquiries. In April 1994, Oak Ridge found a buyer, Teen Challenge of Wisconsin, Inc. ("Teen Challenge"), a Christian growth and development center. Teen Challenge intended to use the property and facility as a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for twenty adult residents. (Id. ¶ 16.) Teen Challenge agreed to purchase Oak Ridge's property for $250,000 contingent upon obtaining a conditional use permit from the County by September 14, 1994. (Id. ¶¶ 14-15.)

In June 1994, Teen Challenge submitted an application for conditional use to Racine County and wrote on the application that Teen Challenge was acting as an agent for Oak Ridge. (Id./Ex. 2.) Yorkville residents, and the Town of Yorkville itself, proceeded to submit petitions and letters in opposition to the presence of the rehabilitation center. In July 1994, at a public hearing, numerous Yorkville residents urged rejection of the conditional use permit on the grounds that the rehabilitation facility would be a security risk to neighborhood schools, lure criminal activity into the community, bring too much traffic, cause sewage problems, decrease property value, and fail due to inadequate staffing and methodology. (Id. ¶ 25.)

After the public hearing, County officials voted 4-3 to deny the conditional use permit. The County stated that it denied the permit because the rehabilitation facility was an inappropriate land use and belonged in "an urban area." (Id. ¶ 33.) In August 1994, Oak Ridge advised the County that Oak Ridge would face economic damages if the conditional use permit were denied, but the County did not reverse its decision. On September 14, 1994, Teen Challenge canceled its contract to purchase Oak Ridge's property because a conditional use permit had not been issued. (Id. ¶ 41.) Oak Ridge has since been unsuccessful in selling the property and claims to be suffering economic damages as a result of its continued mortgage obligation on the property. (Id. ¶ 43.)

Oak Ridge claims that the County denied the use permit based on stereotypical attitudes about and discriminatory animus toward disabled people (alcoholics and drug addicts). (Id. ¶¶ 34-35.) Oak Ridge brings this action under Title VIII of the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3600 et seq. ("FHA"), and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131 et seq. ("ADA").

B. Posture

Defendant Racine County has moved to dismiss the plaintiff's complaint for lack of standing and for failing to state a claim. Defendant Yorkville has moved for summary judgment. Because the record differs between a dismissal motion and a summary judgment motion, the court will consider the motions separately.

II. Analysis

A. Racine County's Motion to Dismiss

Racine County moves to dismiss Oak Ridge's ADA claim for lack of standing under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). In addition, Racine County seeks to dismiss plaintiff's FHA *871 claim for lack of standing under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) and for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). For reasons set forth below, the court shall deny Racine County's arguments for dismissal.

1. Standing under the Americans with Disabilities Act

Standing questions are to be resolved according to a two-part inquiry that considers: (1) Article III constitutional limitations and (2) prudential limitations. Gladstone, Realtors v. Village of Bellwood, 441 U.S. 91, 99, 99 S.Ct. 1601, 1607-08, 60 L.Ed.2d 66 (1979). A litigant must pass both constitutional and prudential muster to have standing to sue. Family & Children's Ctr., Inc. v. School City of Mishawaka, 13 F.3d 1052, 1058 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 115 S.Ct. 420, 130 L.Ed.2d 335 (1994).

a. Article III Limitations

Article III requires the existence of a case or controversy between plaintiff and defendant. To satisfy Article III minima, a plaintiff must allege: (1) an "injury in fact" (2) fairly traceable to the defendant's conduct (3) that a favorable federal court decision likely would redress or remedy. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 2136, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992). The Supreme Court has advised that "[a]t the pleading stage, general factual allegations of injury resulting from the defendant's conduct may suffice, for on a motion to dismiss we `presum[e] that general allegations embrace those specific facts that are necessary to support the claim.'" Id. 504 U.S. at 561, 112 S.Ct. at 2137 (quoting Lujan v. National Wildlife Fed'n, 497 U.S. 871, 889, 110 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
896 F. Supp. 867, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12387, 1995 WL 490925, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oak-ridge-care-center-v-racine-county-wis-wied-1995.