Quality of Life, Corp. v. The City of Margate

Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit·Decided February 28, 2020·No. 18-14443·Unpublished

Opinion

[DO NOT PUBLISH]

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

No. 18-14443

D.C. Docket No. 0:17-cv-61894-BB

QUALITY OF LIFE, CORP., formerly known as Margate Rehabilitation Center, MMJ FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.,

Plaintiffs - Appellants,

versus

THE CITY OF MARGATE, Defendant - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

(February 28, 2020)

Before NEWSOM, TJOFLAT, and GINSBURG,* Circuit Judges. NEWSOM, Circuit Judge:

This case arises from a protracted zoning dispute between Quality of Life and MMJ Financial Services (two Florida entities owned by Miryam Jimenez to which we’ll refer collectively as “Quality of Life”) and the City of Margate, Florida. Quality of Life sought and received permission from the City to operate an assisted-living facility for the elderly in an area zoned for residential use. Rather than following through with that plan, though, Quality of Life decided to open a drug-detoxification facility and insisted that the City’s green light to operate an assisted-living facility also permitted it to operate a detox. When the City opposed its change of plans, Quality of Life took the dispute to court, alleging that the City’s actions were motivated by discrimination against people in recovery. Having lost at summary judgment in the district court, Quality of Life argues on appeal (1) that the City’s actions violated the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, (2) that the City is estopped from preventing it from operating as a drug-detox facility, (3) that the district court didn’t properly address its declaratory and injunctive relief claims, and (4) that the district court erred in denying its motion for reconsideration.

*

Honorable Douglas H. Ginsburg, United States Circuit Judge for the D.C. Circuit, sitting by designation.

We reject each of Quality of Life’s contentions. We therefore affirm the district court’s orders granting the City’s motion for summary judgment and denying Quality of Life’s motion for reconsideration.

I

In any given zone within the City of Margate, there are three categories of uses: (1) permitted use (i.e., the use is allowed as of right), (2) special-exception use (i.e., the use is allowed, so long as the City approves it), and (3) prohibited use (i.e., the use isn’t allowed in the zoning district at all). Quality of Life owns the property at issue, which is located in a multi-family residential zoning district.

Quality of Life’s founder, Miryam Jimenez, sought a special-exception use from the City to operate an assisted-living facility on the property. In her application, and when appearing before the City’s governing bodies, Jimenez repeatedly represented that she was applying to open an independent- or assisted- living facility for the elderly. The City Commissioners voted 5-0 in favor of approving Jimenez’s application.

After this approval, though, Jimenez notified the City that she instead wanted to open a drug-detoxification facility and began representing to others that she would do so. For example, she put up a sign in front of the property stating “COMING SOON MARGATE DETOX” and submitted building plans to the City that included labels such as “Margate Rehabilitation Center” and references to

inpatient treatment areas. The City rejected the building plans, giving as its reason that the “[s]pecial exception approval was given for [an] independent living facility.”

The City sought assurances from Jimenez that she would not operate a detox facility without the City’s approval. Jimenez tendered an affidavit (requested by the City, but prepared by her attorney), in which she swore (1) that she “intend[ed] to operate a group care facility, as defined by the City of Margate Code of Ordinances, and as approved in City Resolution No. 15-010,” which had approved her special-use application, and (2) that she would “not operate a detoxification facility from the Property without the prior approval of the City.” Jimenez also revised her building plans, changing the project’s name from “Margate Rehabilitation Center” to “Quality of Life,” and removing references to doctor’s offices, exam rooms, and a laboratory. The City subsequently approved the building plans as satisfying the “Institutional Group I-2 standards” of Florida’s Building Code, which are used for both medical and residential properties.

Despite the affidavit and revised building plans, Jimenez continued to pursue a detox facility. She contended that the special-exception use that the City had granted her to open an assisted-living facility also allowed her to open a drug-detox facility. In a letter to the City, Jimenez acknowledged that she had said “under oath that [she would] not operate a Detoxification facility” without the City’s

approval. Jimenez explained, however, that because there was a state-imposed moratorium on hospital beds, 1 she wanted to use her existing special exception to open a detox, which, according to her, wouldn’t require “chang[ing] the zoning since the facilities are equivalent in nature.”

When the City refused Jimenez’s requests to open a detox under her existing approval, she—through Quality of Life—sued. As relevant here, Quality of Life claimed violations of the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act, argued that the City was estopped under state law from rejecting Jimenez’s request, and sought declaratory and injunctive relief. After dueling motions, the district court ultimately granted summary judgment in favor of the City and denied Quality of Life’s motion for reconsideration.

This is Quality of Life’s appeal.2

II

A

We first examine Quality of Life’s argument that the City discriminated against it in violation of the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities

1 The district court’s summary judgment order states that the moratorium didn’t apply to assisted-living facilities, so it apparently wouldn’t have prevented Jimenez from opening one. 2 We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo and “construe all reasonable doubts about the facts in favor of” Quality of Life, as the non-movant. Michael Linet, Inc. v. Village of Wellington, 408 F.3d 757, 761 (11th Cir. 2005) (quotation omitted). We review a district court’s denial of a motion for reconsideration for abuse of discretion. Rodriguez v. City of Doral, 863 F.3d 1343, 1349 (11th Cir. 2017).

Act. The FHA prohibits, among other things, discrimination on the basis of a handicap in the sale, rental, and financing of “dwellings” and in other housing- related matters. 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f); see also Schwarz v. City of Treasure Island, 544 F.3d 1201, 1212 (11th Cir. 2008) (explaining that the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 amended the FHA to add the handicapped as a protected class). Title II of the ADA prohibits public entities from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. 42 U.S.C. § 12132; Bircoll v. Miami-Dade County, 480 F.3d 1072, 1081 (11th Cir. 2007). 3 Quality of Life asserts violations of the FHA and ADA under three theories:

(1) disparate treatment, (2) disparate impact, and (3) failure to provide a reasonable accommodation. See, e.g., Schwarz, 544 F.3d at 1216–28 (analyzing a plaintiff’s FHA claims under each theory); Nat’l Fed’n of the Blind v. Lamone, 813 F.3d 494, 503 n.5 (4th Cir. 2016) (explaining that “Title II [of the ADA] allows plaintiffs to pursue three distinct grounds for relief”). We’ll consider each theory in turn.4

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Quality of Life, Corp. v. The City of Margate, (11th Cir. 2020).

Quality of Life, Corp. v. The City of Margate (Quality of Life, Corp. v. The City of Margate) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Coral Springs Street Systems, Inc. v. City of Sunrise
371 F.3d 1320 (Eleventh Circuit, 2004)
Michael Linet, Inc. v. Village of Wellington, FL
408 F.3d 757 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
Hallmark Developers, Inc. v. Fulton County, GA
466 F.3d 1276 (Eleventh Circuit, 2006)
Steven M. Bircoll v. Miami-Dade County
480 F.3d 1072 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
Schwarz v. City of Treasure Island
544 F.3d 1201 (Eleventh Circuit, 2008)
Richardson v. Johnson
598 F.3d 734 (Eleventh Circuit, 2010)
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green
411 U.S. 792 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Mx Group, Inc. v. City of Covington
293 F.3d 326 (Sixth Circuit, 2002)
National Federation of the Blind v. Linda Lamone
813 F.3d 494 (Fourth Circuit, 2016)
Anthony Rodriguez v. City of Doral
863 F.3d 1343 (Eleventh Circuit, 2017)
Tsombanidis v. West Haven Fire Department
352 F.3d 565 (Second Circuit, 2003)
Caron Foundation of Florida, Inc. v. City of Delray Beach
879 F. Supp. 2d 1353 (S.D. Florida, 2012)