United States v. California Mobile Home Park Management Co.

Elayne Cohen-Strong, whose young daughter has a respiratory disease requiring the supervision of a home health care aide, appeals the district court’s denial of her motion to intervene and dismissal of this action against the owner and manager of the mobile home lot where she and her daughter reside. Cohen-Strong alleges that the defendants discriminated in violation of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (“FHAA”), by refusing to waive guest fees charged for her handicapped daughter’s home health care aide. The principal issue in this appeal is whether the duty imposed under the FHAA to make “reasonable accommodations in rules” on behalf of handicapped persons may require a landlord to waive, in a given instance, fees generally applicable to all residents. Concluding that generally applicable fees are not immune from scrutiny for compliance with the FHAA’s requirement of reasonable accommodation, and that Cohen-Strong is statutorily entitled to intervene, we *1415 reverse the judgment of the district court and remand for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In 1989, plaintiff Cohen-Strong, and her infant daughter, were residing at a mobile home lot leased…