Facts

Plaintiff Romana Gonzalez, 92, suffered from age-related physical conditions that impaired her ability to walk. Gonzalez resided in Los Angeles, and shared an apartment with plaintiff Rosa Elena Marquez, her granddaughter. The property was owned by Monique La Voie and John Gunson. Gonzalez, Marquez, and the Southern California Housing Rights Center filed suit against La Voie and Gunson alleging fair housing violations.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiffs contended that defendants' actions violated the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and the Fair Housing Act. Specifically, defendants failed to provide plaintiffs with reasonable accommodations, i.e. a parking space, and reasonable modifications, i.e. a ramp. Gonzalez and Marquez had asked defendants to reserve a parking space and install a wheelchair ramp at the entry of the building, which was denied.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
The defense denied plaintiffs' allegation. Defendants were the owners of a rent-controlled property in a very desirable area of Hollywood. Defendants purchased the premises in 2007, and inherited plaintiffs' tenancy. Plaintiffs were paying substantially below market rents, and had several occupants living at the premises who were not on the written rental agreement between plaintiffs and the predecessor in interest. After several disputes arose between plaintiffs and defendants regarding occupancy of the premises and general tenancy concerns, one of the plaintiffs, who was wheelchair bound, began to complain she had trouble accessing the subject premises because several stairs that led to the apartment lacked wheelchair access.

Damages

The plaintiffs requested monetary damages and injunctive relief.

Result

The parties reached a global settlement of $45,500. Of the settlement amount, $20,000 was paid to compensate the Housing Rights Center for legal fees, $3,950 were paid to each plaintiff to compensate them for any damages they claim that they might have suffered, and $17,600 were paid as relocation fees to the plaintiffs who moved out of and vacated the subject premises.