Legal Case Summaries

In Nelson v. Ryan, the district court held that the defendant reasonably accommodated the plaintiff, a blind employee, by crediting him with sick and personal leave, in advance, in order to attend extended guide dog training sessions. This case is under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Act).

In 1981, Nelson, who was legally blind, began working for the New York State Commission for the...

In Michigan Protection & Advocacy Service v. Babin, the Sixth Circuit addressed alleged fair housing discrimination in the purchase of a house intended to be used as a group home for mentally disabled adults.

In May 1988, a couple listed a home with Century 21. Hammonds, a Century 21 agent, contacted Macomb Oakland Regional Center (MORC), a state agency, regarding leasing the...

In Bolton v. Scrivner, Inc., the Tenth Circuit found no violation of Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as the plaintiff did not have a substantial limitation to the major life activity of working.

Bolton worked as an order selector in a grocery warehouse operated by Scrivner, Inc. (Scrivner). In October 1991, Bolton suffered a work-related injury and was given a...

In Berthod REALTORS®, Inc. v. J.W. Riker-Northern Rhode Island, Inc., the Supreme Court of Rhode Island addressed its standard of review for arbitration hearings and trial court decisions thereon. The supreme court held that courts may only overturn arbitration awards for a manifest disregard of a contract provision or a completely irrational result. The court also held that, in the...

In Bear Kaufman Realty, Inc. v. Spec Development, Inc., the Appellate Court of Illinois addressed allegations that a broker was the procuring cause where a developer sold property to a couple formerly represented by the broker. The court found that the developer met the good faith exception to the general rule of procuring cause, and was not liable under either breach of contract or...

In 1994 a Federal District Court in New Jersey addressed alleged Fair Housing Act (FHA) violations regarding the permit process for a group home for emotionally disturbed children. The court found that the state statutes and local zoning ordinances imposing spacing and density requirements violated the FHA prohibition on handicapped discrimination.

The Association for Advancement of...

The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, held that where restrictions on the use and sale of property are of a personal nature to the owner, they are not considered to diminish the value of the property for tax assessment purposes.

A housing development fund company purchased land from New York City for the purpose of developing a low-income housing cooperative project. The...

In Leigh v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court addressed the scope of the state realty transfer tax. The court held that the transfer of real estate into a trust was not subject to the tax even though the trust also contained a bequest of personalty to an organization.

The Leigh family created a trust which contained various assets in the form of stocks,...

In Mahler v. Keenan Real Estate, Inc., the Supreme Court of Kansas addressed allegations of fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation by a buyer against a vendor and a brokerage firm. The court affirmed summary judgment for the defendants on the fraud claim and for the vendor on the negligent misrepresentation claim, but reversed summary judgment for the broker on the negligent...

In Kennedy v. Applause, Inc., the district court held that the plaintiff, who suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, was not a qualified individual with a disability, as she was totally disabled and could not have performed the essential functions of her job even with reasonable accommodation.

In 1990, Applause hired Kennedy as a sales representative/manager. Her duties included...