(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch.
This unaltered story first appeared on URL: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com
Licensed for republication through Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
------------


Court: Waterloo landlord discriminated against tenant with service dog

['Clark Kauffman', 'More From Author', '- January']

Date: 2022-01-18 00:00:00


The Iowa Court of Appeals has ruled that a Waterloo landlord discriminated against a disabled tenant based on her need for a service animal.

The case involves Vincent Kobliska, who owns several apartment buildings in in Waterloo. Court records indicate Kobliska specializes in “high-efficiency sleeping rooms” – a form of high-density housing in which individual tenants have a relatively small amount of living space.

In 2017, Kobliska had a strict no-pets policy, although, as written, it included an exception for service animals, such as seeing-eye and hearing-assistance dogs.

Jennifer Spencer suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and a non-epileptic seizure disorder, according to court records. She owned a 15-pound Pomeranian named Journey. She had received the dog as a Christmas present in 2016 and while it was not initially meant to be a service animal, according to the lawsuit Spencer relied on the dog in managing her emotions and keeping her on a medication schedule.

Journey would wake Spencer when her alarm clock sounded, help her recover from seizures and would assist with panic attacks. As evidence of this, Spencer obtained several letters from various medical professionals recommending she have a service animal.

In the spring of 2017, Spencer planned to move to Waterloo and looked at two apartments owned by Kobliska. She signed a lease on May 5, 2017, and later alleged that she had informed Kobliska that she owned Journey, a service animal. and that Kobliska was adamant he had a no-pets policy and she couldn’t move in with the dog.

Spencer took the apartment and had Journey live with a friend. She paid her security deposit and rent, after which Kobliska gave her a receipt with the words “no pets” written on it and underlined.

Spencer lived in the apartment for three days without Journey and later testified she was an emotional wreck during that period and fell off her medication schedule. She suffered a seizure on her third day without Journey.

She then resumed custody of Journey, moved to a different property Kobliska owned, and recorded a conversation between the landlord and herself. During that conversation, Spencer again raised the issue of Journey living with her. The recording indicates Kobliska said that while the lease allows service animals, it is limited to pets that assist in sight and hearing and, in any event, exceptions to the no-pets policy are always subject to his approval.

However, Kobliska didn’t evict Spencer, and she and her dog moved out of the apartment within a few weeks. The Iowa Civil Rights Commission then brought an action against Kobliska based on his refusal to accommodate Spencer’s need for a service animal for the three days she was without the dog.

After a trial, an administrative law judge issued a proposed decision awarding Spencer $5,000 compensation for emotional distress. The commission also ordered Kobliska to participate in two hours of anti-discrimination training at his own expense.

The commission adopted the judge’s decision, which led to an appeal at the district court level. A judge affirmed the commission’s decision, and Kobliska then took the matter to the Iowa Court of Appeals.

Last week, the appeals court affirmed the lower court’s decision, ruling that there was “substantial evidence to support the (commission’s) finding that Spencer is disabled.” The court also made note of the fact that two witness testified Kobliska had adamantly refused to allow any service animals, and when offered documentation pertaining to Spencer’s disability he merely replied, “Sorry.”

The court said Kobliska’s “firm stance on the issue is reflected on the receipt that he gave Spencer after she signed the lease, which has “no pets” written on it and underlined twice … Kobliska cannot escape liability by claiming Spencer failed to show him documentation when he categorically refused to view it. This is not a case in which Kobliska would have granted the accommodation if Spencer had only shown him the right form; he believed that Spencer’s disability was not one that he must accommodate.”

[END]

[1] Url: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/01/18/court-waterloo-landlord-discriminated-against-tenant-with-service-dog/

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/iowacapitaldispatch/