Tenant sues homeowner for blocking ramp installation, Violation of Fair Housing Act, fraudulent transfer of property cited by plaintiff – $30,000 Settlement

March 26, 2007

 

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly

 

The plaintiff lived with her disabled son and other family members in a two-family apartment owned by the defendant in Fitchburg. The plaintiff’s son had muscular dystrophy and used a wheelchair to ambulate. The apartment did not have a ramp, and, as a result, family members had to carry the plaintiff’s son in and out of the home.

 

The plaintiff claimed that the defendant refused her repeated requests for permission to build a permanent ramp at her own expense, in violation of the reasonable modification provisions of the Fair Housing Act.

 

After the plaintiff filed suit in U.S. District Court, the defendant filed a no-fault eviction action against the plaintiff and her family in the Worcester Housing Court. The eviction case was stayed by the Worcester Housing Court pending the disposition of the federal court litigation.

 

In the federal court litigation, the plaintiff moved for a pre-judgment attachment, which was granted by the court.

 

The plaintiff later learned that the defendant had transferred a real property interest to his mother for nominal consideration. The defendant’s mother, in turn, had sold the property to a good-faith purchaser and retained the sale proceeds.

 

The plaintiff filed a separate lawsuit against the defendant and his mother in federal court, alleging that the transfer from the defendant to his mother was fraudulent. The plaintiff moved for an ex parte temporary restraining order, asking the court to temporarily restrain and enjoin the defendant and his mother from transferring or spending a portion of the proceeds of the sale of the real property.

 

The court granted the motion and then scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing. On the eve of the scheduled hearing, the defendant filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code.

 

The plaintiff moved for relief from the automatic stay in Bankruptcy Court to litigate the pending housing discrimination and fraudulent transfer cases to conclusion in U.S. District Court. The Bankruptcy Court granted the plaintiff’s motion for relief from the automatic stay and later dismissed the defendant’s bankruptcy case.

 

The U.S. District Court subsequently granted the plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction in the fraudulent transfer action. Just prior to the pre-trial conference in the underlying housing discrimination case, the matter was settled for $30,000, with the defendant and his mother each agreeing to pay a portion of the settlement.

 

Type of action: Civil rights/real property

 

Injuries alleged: Emotional distress

 

Name of case: Rodriguez v. Montalvo

 

Court/case #: U.S. District Court, No. 02-40139

 

Tried before judge or jury: N/A (settled)

 

Amount of settlement: $30,000

 

Date: February 2006

 

Attorneys: Jonathan Mannina and Sergio Carvajal, Legal Assistance Corp. of Central Massachusetts, Worcester (for the plaintiff)

 

 

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