Walters v. Cowpet Bay West Condominium Ass'n

66 V.I. 740, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13
CourtDistrict Court, Virgin Islands
DecidedJanuary 2, 2015
DocketCivil No. 2012-24
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 66 V.I. 740 (Walters v. Cowpet Bay West Condominium Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, Virgin Islands primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Walters v. Cowpet Bay West Condominium Ass'n, 66 V.I. 740, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13 (vid 2015).

Opinion

GÓMEZ, United States District Judge

MEMORANDUM OPINION

(January 2, 2015)

Before the Court are four motions for summary judgment filed by: Vincent Verdiramo, Robert Cockayne, Lance Talkington, and the Cowpet Bay West Condominium Association (the “Association”) and the Board of the Cowpet Bay West Condominium Association (the “Board”) (collectively, the “Defendants”).

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Barbara Walters (“Walters”) owned a unit in the Cowpet Bay West Condominium complex (“Cowpet”), a condominium community located on St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands.

The Cowpet Bay West Condominium Association (“the Association”) was formed under the Condominium Act of the Virgin Islands (the “Condominium Act”), 28 V.I.C. §§901-927. (Bylaws at 1, Civil No. 2012-24, ECF No. 31-1.)1 The Association is comprised of all of the unit owners in the Cowpet condominium community. Association members purchase their units subject to the Association’s Declaration,2 Bylaws, and its Rules and Regulations.3

[743]*743Association members elect a Board of Directors (“the Board”). The Board is made up of seven Association members. The Bylaws provide that the Board has

the powers and duties necessary for the administration of the affairs of the Condominium and may do all such acts and things except as by law, by the Declaration, or by [its] By-Laws may not be delegated to the Board of Directors by the unit owners.

(Bylaws at 2, Civil No. 2012-24, ECF 31-1.)

The Bylaws provide for the amendment and enforcement of Rules and Regulations by the Board. At all relevant times, the Rules and Regulations for Association members provide the following:

Dogs and farm animals are prohibited. Owners will be fined as specified by the Board of Directors. The Association may require removal of any animal when it becomes bothersome to others or is deemed by the Association to be unacceptable.

(Rules and Regulations, Civil No. 2012-24, ECF No. 31-2.)

On or about January 21, 2011, Stansford S. Sutherland (“Sutherland”), “a licensed psychologist wrote a letter stating that he was treating Walters and that she was diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder . . . .” (Second Am. Compl. ¶ 30.) In his letter, the psychologist stated “that he has prescribed the use of an emotional support animal, dog or other, to alleviate her symptoms and that such emotional support animal was necessary.” (Id.)

Walters owned a dog named Happy. Walters submitted information about her dog’s qualification as an emotional support animal to Louanne Schechter (“Schechter”), Cowpet’s office manager, and included the letter from Sutherland.

Subsequently, discussions on Walters’s pet ownership appeared on an Internet web log, the Cowpet Bay Blog (“the blog”). The blog was maintained by a member of the Association, Lance Talkington. (Second Am. Compl. at ¶ 44, Civil No. 2012-24.) Frequent commenters included Alfred Felice.

[744]*744Walters alleged that, on or about October 28, 2011, Max Harcourt, then president of the Board, e-mailed a letter addressed to Walters’s e-mail address as well as to Talkington’s e-mail address. The letter stated that Walters had violated the “no dogs” policy contained in the Rules and Regulations. The letter also requested that Walters submit applications for reasonable accommodation.

On or about January 19, 2012, the Board met and voted to assess a fine of $50 per day against owners, including Walters, who were in violation of the “no dogs” policy. Such fines were held in abeyance. Thereafter, in February, 2012, the Association voted to add the “no dogs” policy to the Bylaws. The newly added bylaw contained no explicit exception for service animals. Walters did request an exemption from the policy following the amendment. Ultimately, Walters was granted an exemption from the “no dogs” policy. All of the fines assessed against Walters were waived.

Walters initiated this action against Cowpet on April 9, 2012. Her complaint has twice been amended. Walters’s complaint contains the following claims: Count One alleges a violation of the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”), 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(b) against the Association and the Board; Count Two alleges a violation of the FHA, 42 U.S.C. § 3617 against Harcourt; Count Three alleges a violation of the FHA, 42 U.S.C. §3617 against the Association and the Board; Count Four alleges a violation of the FHA, 42 U.S.C. § 3617 against Alfred Felice; Count Five alleges a violation of the FHA, 42 U.S.C. § 3617 against Talkington; Count Six alleges a violation of Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12188 against the Association and the Board; Count Seven alleges the Board exceeded its authority; Count Eight alleges that the February 2012 Bylaws Amendment is void; Count Nine alleges negligence against the Association and the Board; The next count, also labeled as “Count Nine” in the complaint, alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress against Felice; Count Ten alleges civil conspiracy against all Defendants; Count Eleven alleges prima facie tort against all Defendants; Count Twelve alleges defamation and slander per se against the Association, the Board, Felice, Harcourt, and Talkington; Count Thirteen alleges Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress against all Defendants except [745]*745Felice; Count Fourteen4 alleges Invasion of Privacy — Public Disclosure of Private Facts against the Association and the Board; Count Fifteen5 alleges Invasion of Privacy — Public Disclosure of Private Facts against Harcourt and Talkington; Count Sixteen alleges Invasion of Privacy — False Light against all Defendants except Verdiramo and Cockayne; Count Seventeen alleges Invasion of Privacy against the Board, the Association, Harcourt, and Talkington; and Count Eighteen alleges Negligence Per Se!Legal Malpractice against Vincent Verdiramo.

During the pendency of this litigation, defendants Harcourt and Felice passed away. On or about April 22, 2014, Walters also passed away.

The Board and the Association filed a motion for summary judgment seeking judgment on Counts One, Three, Six, Seven, Eight, Thirteen, Fourteen, and Seventeen of the second amended complaint. Cockayne and Verdiramo filed motions for summary judgment seeking judgment on Count Thirteen of the second amended complaint. Talkington filed a motion for summary judgment seeking judgment on Counts Five, Eleven, Thirteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, and Seventeen of the second amended complaint. Finally, a motion for summary judgment was filed by an attorney claiming to represent Harcourt.

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66 V.I. 740, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walters-v-cowpet-bay-west-condominium-assn-vid-2015.