A woman who faced eviction from her New York co-op over her three emotional support parrots has been awarded $165,000 in damages and $585,000 for her apartment in what the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York described as "the largest recovery the Department of Justice has ever obtained for a person with disabilities whose housing provider denied them their right to have an assistance animal."
"This outcome should prompt all housing providers to consider carefully whether their policies and procedures comply with federal law," federal prosecutor Damian Williams said.
Meril Lesser had lived with emotional support parrots for almost 20 years at a co-op apartment building in Manhattan known as the Rutherford when in 2015 neighbors began to complain the birds were too noisy, The New York Times reported.
A year later, the board started trying to evict her. Lesser, who has anxiety and depression, moved out, despite a letter from her psychiatrist requesting an accommodation from the co-op.
"All three birds must be present as they are long-term companions of each other and cannot be separated without negative consequences," the physician wrote, adding that the parrots' presence helped "mitigate the mental health symptoms" Lesser experienced.
Lesser during the eviction process made a fair-housing complaint with the federal office of Housing and Urban Development. She also got an offer from a buyer in 2018 to sell the apartment but the co-op's board rejected the application.
Following the judge's ruling, the co-op must dismiss the eviction proceedings against Lesser and adopt a "reasonable accommodation policy" for residents who want to live with assistance animals.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.