Schroeder v. De Bertolo

In 1981 Rosa Schroeder purchased a condominium unit in Concordia Gardens Condominiums (Concordia). While Rosa lived at Concordia, she suffered from mental illness until she died by suicide in 1993. Rosa’s brothers and sister, as the legal representatives of Rosa’s estate and personally (collectively, the Schroeders) (plaintiffs), sued the members of the board of directors of the Concordia Gardens Condominium Association and the handyman (collectively, the association) (defendants) for discrimination under the Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA). The Schroeders specifically alleged that the association initiated groundless claims against Rosa for breach of the peace and misappropriation of common property, threatened to file groundless claims against Rosa, and entered Rosa’s unit without her consent to search for common property that Rosa had allegedly taken from the common areas. The Schroeders further alleged that the association intimidated Rosa and intentionally prohibited her from using the condominium’s common areas because of Rosa’s mental illness. The association moved to dismiss the case, arguing that the FHAA only applied to the initial sale or rental of a dwelling and those who provided it, and because Rosa had completed the purchase of her condominium years earlier, the FHAA did not apply to the Schroeders’ claims or to the association board members who were not in the business of providing housing.