Florida Attorney General Resolves Alleged Disability Discrimination

Central Florida retirement community must accommodate disabled resident

Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a disabled Central Florida resident must be reasonably accommodated by her retirement community under Florida’s Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing Act. Under the terms of a settlement agreement announced today between Avatar Properties, Inc., (Avatar) and Attorney General McCollum, the Solivita at Poinciana (Solivita), a retirement community owned by Avatar, will create a disabled parking space near the community’s fitness facility and will renovate other areas within the facility that were previously inaccessible to disabled individuals.

“Discrimination in any form is unacceptable and we will continue to defend the civil rights of disabled Floridians against these types of violations,” said Attorney General McCollum. “The successful resolution of this case is, unquestionably, the best outcome possible.”

In 2001, Rhonda White was informed by Solivita personnel that she could no longer park her vehicle on the street in front of the community's fitness center because the area had been recently re-designated as golf cart parking. Because her disability prevents her from using a golf cart, White requested permission to continue parking her car in front of the fitness center as a reasonable accommodation, but her request was denied. She filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations and, after receiving notice that there was sufficient evidence to substantiate her allegations of discrimination, White elected for the Attorney General’s Office to pursue the matter on her behalf.

Upon further investigation, the Office of Civil Rights found that not only was the denial discriminatory, but that several areas within the community’s fitness center also violated the design and construction standards of the Florida Fair Housing Act and other anti-discrimination laws. The retirement community was made aware of the additional inaccessibility issues and was advised that its denial of White’s request for a reasonable accommodation was illegal. The Office of Civil Rights formally requested that White be allowed to park in front of the fitness center as requested and that the inaccessible areas be modified to meet accessibility requirements. Again, Solivita refused.