Nature of Claims: This action challenges the Housing Authority's practice of seeking to evict residents with mental disabilities without prior appointment of a guardian ad litem or other efforts at accommodating their mental disabilities, in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Fair Housing Amendments Act, and due process of law. The plaintiffs include 11 tenants who were subject to administrative termination-of-tenancy proceedings and/or Housing Court eviction proceedings. The action seeks to ensure that residents with mental disabilities have the capacity to represent themselves at all stages of the termination-of-tenancy and eviction process.
Current Status: A plaintiff class was certified on December 1, 1999. On March 30, 2005, the district court granted plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment on the most important aspects of plaintiffs' claims. Blatch v. Franco, 360 F. Supp. 2d 595 (S.D.N.Y. 2005). The court found “that NYCHA's practices and procedures for conducting administrative tenancy termination hearings fail to protect mentally disabled tenants against deprivations of their tenancy rights without due process of law and thus violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.” The court also declared that “NYCHA's practice of pursuing non-payment pro¬ceedings in Housing Court without informing the tribunal of information in its possession that may suggest that the tenant is incapable of meaningfully participating in the proceedings” violates due process. The court ordered NYCHA and plaintiffs' counsel to negotiate and submit a perma¬nent injunction order. The parties are engaged in negotiations regarding a possible settlement of the action.
No. Persons Affected: Approximately 15,200 Housing Authority tenants and/or family members suffer from a mental disability.
Reported Decisions: Blatch v. Franco, 1998 WL 265132, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7717 (S.D.N.Y. May 26, 1998); Blatch v. Franco, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23158 (S.D.N.Y. March 28, 2001) (report and recommendation); Blatch v. Franco, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3531 (S.D.N.Y. March 5, 2002) (adopting report and recommendation); Blatch v. Franco, 360 F. Supp. 2d 595 (S.D.N.Y. 2005).