JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The city of Jacksonville has filed a federal Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit against the owners and managers of an Arlington apartment complex.
According to the lawsuit, Leslie Banks, who uses a scooter and a walker as a result of a disability, checked out an apartment at the Miramar apartment complex on University Boulevard North in November 2022.
She said she was shown a unit that had no steps, where she would be able to get in and out with her scooter. The details of her lease for that unit were confirmed at that time, the lawsuit states.
The following month, she arrived with her belongings, ready to move into that unit but was told it was no longer available, according to the lawsuit, and the unit she was offered had three steps at the door which her mobility devices could not travel over.
She said she asked for a different first-floor unit and was told none were available. She then asked that an access ramp be installed, which was never done, despite three requests, the lawsuit states. After the third request, she said apartment staff told her to contact the city and ask about a ramp.
Without a ramp, Banks said she sometimes had to leave her scooter outside her apartment or rely on friends and neighbors to help carry it up and down the steps.
In April 2023, she was told her request for a ramp had been marked as “on hold,” according to the lawsuit. A month later, she filed a complaint with the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission and moved out about two weeks later.
The lawsuit asks the court to find the owners in violation of the Fair Housing Act and city ordinance, order the complex to change their practices to be in compliance, for “compensatory damages” on Banks’ behalf, and for civil penalties and fines.
The lawsuit contains allegations and represents just one side of the story.
Banks told News4JAX she did not want to comment at this time.
The city said it does not comment on active litigation.
Curtis Fallgatter is a former federal prosecutor who is not affiliated with the case. He called the lawsuit an “unfortunate situation.”
“Obviously, the statute is important, because the statute says that the facility has to make appropriate accommodations for someone with a handicap. And she appears to fall into that protected category. So on that regard, they may have a strong suit there,” he said.
Fallgatter also said if a complex doesn’t want to be in a situation like this, they need to be upfront with potential tenants.
News4JAX wanted to see if the manager of the complex had anything to say about this so we went by the front office and asked them for a comment but they asked us to leave.
Fallgatter said if the court does find Miramar to have violated the Fair Housing Act he doesn’t believe they’ll have to pay too much money in damages. But he says since the city is asking for the complex to fix accommodations for others who might be in a similar situation as Banks, they’ll have to do that.