Southwest Fair Housing Council v. WG Scottsdale LLC

District Court, D. Arizona·Decided March 8, 2021·No. 4:19-cv-00180·Unknown

Opinion

WO

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Southwest Fair Housing Council, No. CV-19-00180-TUC-RM Plaintiff, ORDER v. WG Scottsdale LLC, Defendant.

Plaintiff Southwest Fair Housing Council (“Southwest” or “Plaintiff” ) brought this action pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (“Section 504” or “the Rehabilitation Act”), the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) and the Arizona Fair Housing Act (“AZFHA”). Plaintiff filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 51), to which Defendant WG Scottsdale LLC (“Sierra Pointe”1 or “Defendant”) responded in opposition (Doc. 54). Defendant also filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 49), to which Plaintiff responded in opposition (Doc. 56). The Motions will be granted in part and denied in part as follows. . . . .

1 Defendant’s briefing refers to itself as “Sierra Pointe.” (See Doc. 49.) The Court will do the same. I. Summary Judgment Standard A court must grant summary judgment “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23 (1986). The movant bears the initial responsibility of presenting the basis for its motion and identifying those portions of the record, together with affidavits, if any, that it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323. If the movant fails to carry its initial burden of production, the nonmovant need not produce anything. Nissan Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Fritz Co., 210 F.3d 1099, 1102– 03 (9th Cir. 2000). But if the movant meets its initial responsibility, the burden shifts to the nonmovant to demonstrate the existence of a factual dispute and to show (1) that the fact in contention is material, i.e., a fact that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law, and (2) that the dispute is genuine, i.e., the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmovant. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 250 (1986); see Triton Energy Corp. v. Square D. Co., 68 F.3d 1216, 1221 (9th Cir. 1995). The nonmovant need not establish a material issue of fact conclusively in its favor, First Nat’l Bank of Ariz. v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 288– 89 (1968); however, it must “come forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986) (internal citation omitted); see Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1). At summary judgment, the Court’s function is not to weigh the evidence and determine the truth but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249. Pure questions of law, where there is no disputed issue of fact, are appropriate for summary judgment. Schrader v. Idaho Dep’t of Health & Welfare, 768 F.2d 1107, 1110 (9th Cir. 1985). “The inquiry performed is the threshold inquiry of determining whether there is the need for a trial—whether, in other words, there are any genuine factual issues that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250. “[T]his standard mirrors the standard for a directed verdict under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(a), which is that the trial judge must direct a verdict if, under the governing law, there can be but one reasonable conclusion as to the verdict.” Id. (internal citation omitted). In its analysis, the Court must accept the nonmovant’s evidence and draw all inferences in the nonmovant’s favor. Id. at 255. The Court need consider only the cited materials, but it may consider any other materials in the record. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(3). II. Factual Background Plaintiff Southwest Fair Housing Council brought this action against Defendant WG Campana seeking remedies for unlawful discrimination based on disability. (Doc. 51 at 9.) Plaintiff is a non-profit organization based in Tucson, Arizona that seeks to ensure that all people, including deaf individuals, have equal access to housing in Arizona. (Id.) Plaintiff employed testers to investigate Defendant’s willingness to provide auxiliary aids and services at its facilities, including American Sign Language (“ASL”)2 interpreters, as part of its mission to alleviate disability discrimination in housing. (Id.) Defendant Sierra Pointe is a is a 216-unit residential apartment complex located in Scottsdale, Arizona that provides private apartments for active seniors. (Doc. 49 at 2.) Sierra Pointe provides specific amenities to its residents, the cost of which is included in rent, and offers licensed care services for a fee. (Id.) Sierra Point is licensed to provide Supervisory Care, Personal Care, and Directed Care services. (Id.) Supervisory Care is the level of care that applies to those residents who live independently and includes general supervision, such as daily awareness of resident functioning and needs, cues, and reminders, as well as a medication management program in which staff members remind a resident to take medication and observe her doing so. (Id.) Supervisory Care services involve no direct physical contact between staff and residents. (Id.) Personal Care services include assistance with personal grooming, such as bathing or getting dressed. 2 ASL is a visual, three-dimensional, non-linear language, and its grammar and syntax differ from the grammar and syntax of English and other spoken languages. U.S. E.E.O.C. v. UPS Supply Chain Solus., 620 F.3d 1103, 1106 (9th Cir. 2010). (Id.) Directed Care services are limited to a separate 38-unit building that provides heightened monitoring and may include personal care or two-person lift assistance. (Id.) Sierra Pointe does not provide medical care, health care, or skilled nursing care. (Id.) On August 23, 2016, Plaintiff’s tester Gladys Beebe (“Beebe”) visited Defendant’s facility and met with Defendant’s executive director, Tracy Colburn (“Colburn”) and Defendant’s sales director, Gwen Westhaufer (“Westhaufer”).3 (Doc. 49 at 3; Doc. 51 at 10.)4 Beebe represented that she was visiting the facility on behalf of her deaf grandfather, Frank, who was considering relocating to Arizona. (Doc. 49 at 3.) Beebe described Frank as deaf, although he had not been born so. (Id.) She described him as using sign language, able to read lips, and able to read and write. (Id.) She described him as in “good health, fairly active, and able to drive. (Id.) She described him as taking heart medication. (Id.) Beebe also stated that she had been estranged from Frank for much of her life and that her brother Garland, who lived in Phoenix, would be the primary point of contact for him. (Id.; Doc. 49 at 10.) During the tour, Westhaufer explained Sierra Pointe’s various levels of care and the services associated with each. (Id.) Beebe indicated

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