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Article Courtesy of Action
News Jax
By Bob D'Angelo
Published January 13, 2022
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WEST PALM BEACH — A Florida family is suing a condominium association over a
rule that bans children from using the community pool while wearing swim
diapers. The defendants believe the lawsuit does not hold water.
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A lawsuit filed in
West Palm Beach by grandparents Jack and Simone Yeager,
their son, David Yeager, and their daughter-in-law Nicole
Fisher alleges discrimination by the Hunters Run Property
Owners Association of Boynton Beach, the Sun-Sentinel
reported.
Jack and Simone Yeager own a home in Hunters Run Country
Club, the newspaper reported.
The David Yeager et al. v. Hunters Run Property Owners
Association, was filed in the county court of the 15th
Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County on Dec. 1. David
Yeager and Fisher were visiting on Dec. 13, 2018, when they
brought their then 19-month-old daughter to the main
clubhouse swimming pool at Hunters Run. |
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The child was wearing swim diapers, a snug-fitting alternative to disposable
or cloth diapers, according to the Sun-Sentinel. The girl, who was
supervised by her parents, put her feet into the pool, court records state.
According to the plaintiffs, a Hunters Run employee approached the child’s
parents and demanded that she be removed from the pool, telling David Yeager
and Fisher that children in swim diapers were restricted to the “kiddie
pool.”
It was not the first time a Hunters Run employee had asked adults to remove
their young child from the main pool, Jack Gorny, the president of Hunters
Run, confirmed in court documents.
The lawsuit claims that Hunters Run violated anti-discrimination ordinances
in Palm Beach County and the federal Fair Housing Act, which bars
discrimination against families with children under 18, the Sun-Sentinel
reported.
“Hunters Run’s rules pertaining to the clubhouse pool have a disparate and
unreasonable impact on children,” the lawsuit claims.
“The rule prohibiting children in swim diapers from using the clubhouse pool
is unreasonable,” the lawsuit states.
The suit further states that the rule was “not motivated by legitimate
concerns for health and safety reasons.”
The lawsuit seeks monetary damages, attorneys costs, a finding that a
discriminatory practice occurred, and an order barring Hunters Run from
enforcing the ban in the future.
A complaint was filed with the Palm Beach County Office of Equal
Opportunity. Pamela Guerrier, director of the office, told the Sun-Sentinel
she could not discuss pending litigation.
The Yeagers’ attorney also declined to discuss the case, and Hunters Run’s
general manager of Hunters Run did not return a telephone call to his office
on Tuesday, the newspaper reported.
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