Condo Media - January 2017 - 55

Practices Act, Title 34, chapter 37 of the
General Laws of RI have stated that at a
minimum, the condominium association
and the management company have to
engage in an interactive process with the
unit owner when faced with a request for
a reasonable accommodation. Therefore,
ignoring this unit owner's attempts to discuss the matter as alleged would violate
both the federal and state law.
After investigating the matter with
our clients, we learned that the matter
was not quite as straightforward as was
presented in the complaint. In fact,
our client provided us with copies of
voluminous documentation concerning
the events leading up to the complaint.
While these notes, emails, and letters to
the unit owner were in fact all one-sided
as the unit owner never responded to
them, the documentation laid out a completely different set of circumstances.
The documentation taken as a whole

showed that the unit was occupied by
a tenant, and not the unit owner. Furthermore, when the on-site property
manager went to the unit and knocked,
the tenant who answered the door
never mentioned the need for a service
dog when responding to the noise
complaints. Additionally, many emails
to the unit owner talked about the "tenant's dog," and its barking. There was
no evidence or mention of a request for
reasonable accommodation by anyone.
Using this documentation, our office
successfully argued that, had the unit
owner's complaints been valid, common
sense would dictate that all of these
notes, emails, and other correspondence
to the unit owner would not have gone
unrebutted. In fact, the unit owner did
not produce one piece of documentary
evidence to support his side of the story.
While the law does not require a
unit owner to put his/her request for

reasonable accommodation in writing,
by documenting all communications in
the situation concerning the dog and by
showing bona fide attempts to address
the dog with the unit owner, we were
able to overcome the classic "he said,
she said," scenario and the complaint
was ultimately dismissed.
While we know that boards and managers have more to do than write down
all their actions in regard to reported
conflicts and complaints, documents can
frequently save the day. Although Lady
Justice is blind, documents can serve to
tip her scales in favor of the association.

PAMELA M. JONAH,
ESQ. AND ELLEN
A. SHAPIRO, ESQ.
ARE ATTORNEYS AT
GOODMAN, SHAPIRO,
& LOMBARDI, LLC.

Superior Interior and Exterior Contracting
Landmark Associates offers interior and exterior contracting for
condominium associations and property managers to maintain and
improve their buildings. From capital projects to restoration contracting,
Landmark will be a trusted member of your team. We'll make the most
of your budget while achieving your construction/renovation goals.

CONTACT US!
(508) 482-0104
www.landmarkassoc.com

Hovey Square Condos. Full siding
and deck renovation. Dracut, MA.

January 2017

55
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Condo Media - January 2017

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