Women fight back against their HOA

Report Courtesy of newschannel 5 -- wptv.com

By Danielle Dubetz

September 19, 2007

  

A group of women who are disabled may risk getting kicked out of their house by their homeowner's association. Now they're fighting back. The womens' lawyer said that under the law, they should be allowed to stay.

   
"It's fun and you know, I have freedom and I have family and I have everything I wanted," says Kristin Calandra on Memorial Day. She celebrated with her roommates, women who, like her, are developmentally disabled.

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Calandra and three others live together inside their Greenacres home, and while they're not related, she said they're just like any other family.

     
"We share the chores. We grill a lot. We talk," Calandra said, "It's just the love that we have for each other."

    
But the Normandy Isles Homeowners' Association said their arrangement is a group home, making it a business and against their codes. The H.O.A. filed suit against the women's' landlord and now, against the women themselves.

  
Cathy Lively, who's representing the women said their families are firing back, filing counter-suits totaling about $10 million dollars.

  
"The number is based upon the lifetime needs of the four women, if they're forced to re-locate then they're going to have to look for individual care," Lively said adding that it would be extremely expensive," These women require 24 hour supervision."

   
Supervision that their landlord was providing through his company, Helpers International Inc.
Lively admits there's no denying that the property was run as a group home, but she said a house with 4-6 developmentally disabled people is still considered a single-family residence under Florida law and no matter how the Homeowners' Association of Normandy Isles feels, the women have a right to live there.

   
"They do not bother anybody. They're simply trying to exist," Lively said.
We tried to reach the law firm representing Normandy Isles. They did not return our phone calls.


Developmentally Disabled Women Sue Homeowners'

Association for Violations of the Fair Housing Act

Lawsuit seeks in excess of $10 million in damages

LAKE WORTH, FL (September 19, 2007)– The Law Office of Cathy L.  Purvis Lively, Esq., P.A. today filed a counter-lawsuit against the Normandy Isles Homeowners’ Association on behalf of four developmentally disabled women residing in Normandy Isles in Greenacres.  The lawsuit seeks in excess of $10 million in damages caused to the women who are being evicted and sued by Normandy Isles, one of the largest H.O.A.’s in Palm Beach County. The grounds for the lawsuit are  violations committed by Normandy Isles of Federal and State Law and specifically the Florida Fair Housing Act.  Because of its discriminatory acts against the women, who suffer from disabilities including mental retardation and cerebral palsy,  Normandy Isles is now under investigation by the Palm Beach County Office of Equal Opportunity.

The trouble began in May when the Normandy Isles H.O.A. and Banyan Property Management sued homeowner, Evroy Grant, for operating a group home for the women in the Normandy Isles community at 1056 Salmon Isle, Greenacres, FL.  The H.O.A. claimed Grant was operating a business and attempted to evict the women from the home.  State law provides that Grant isn’t running a business but rather operating a community residential home for the women.  He is counter-suing the Normandy Isles Homeowners Association and the property manager for injunctive relief.  In June, Normandy Isles H.O.A. amended the lawsuit to include the women alleging they created a nuisance by allowing commercial vehicles (PalmTran Connect) and the media to enter the property; this forced today’s counter-claim action.

Attorney Cathy Lively as well as the women’s families are available for media inquiries. For more information, contact Kathleen Walter at 561.385.2707.


Homeowner Sues H.O.A. for Fair Housing Act Violations

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