The Department of Justice has announced that it filed a lawsuit alleging that Hampton Corporation Inc. and several other individuals and entities violated the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to design and construct multifamily residential properties and an associated rental office in North Dakota so that they are accessible to people with disabilities.
“When dwellings are designed and constructed without complying with the Fair Housing Act’s accessibility protections, people suffer,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will work to ensure that individuals with disabilities have an equal opportunity to live in and enjoy their homes safely.”
“Serious accessibility violations that make life more difficult for many North Dakotans with disabilities must be remedied—that is our firm commitment, as we do the important work of enforcing the promises made in the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act,” said Drew Wrigley, U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, alleges that significant physical accessibility barriers exist at four developments and a rental office designed and constructed by Hampton Corporation Inc.; Daniel Stauss; Scott Stauss; Steeple Apts LLC; HDD Inc.; and Times Square Townhomes II Inc. These barriers include, among other violations, steps or excessive slopes leading to unit entrances from sidewalks and other public use areas; insufficiently wide openings at interior doors that make them inaccessible for many persons with mobility impairments; inadequate interior space to maneuver a wheelchair; and inaccessible parking. The accessibility violations exist at 116 units constructed over an approximately 15 year period.
