Herriot v. Channing House
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
2009 WL 225418 (2009)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Sally Herriot (plaintiff) resided in Channing House (defendant), a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) licensed by the State of California. Channing House provided three levels of care: independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing care. Per California law, Channing House was obligated to monitor the medical condition of residents and to move residents to higher levels of care if a resident’s medical-care needs increased. Herriot was originally medically approved for an independent-living unit. However, after more than a decade at Channing House, Herriot developed dementia, became mostly nonambulatory, and required 24-hour care. Channing House notified Herriot that she was required to move into the assisted-living unit. Herriot refused to move. Instead, Herriot hired her own private caregivers and requested an accommodation from Channing House to be allowed to remain in her independent-living unit with her private caregivers. Channing House refused the requested accommodation. Herriot sued Channing House, arguing that Channing House discriminated against her because of her disabilities and failed to provide reasonable accommodations, in violation of the Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Channing House moved for summary adjudication, arguing that (1) it was legally obligated to move Herriot to a higher level of care because of her increased medical needs; and (2) it could not delegate its duty of care to private caregivers. The court granted summary adjudication to Channing House. Herriot moved for reconsideration, and Channing House cross-moved for summary judgment.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Fogel, J.)
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