Women sues over apartment’s exile of her companion animal

An Ohio University student living at Riverpark Towers in Athens is suing the owners and managers of the big apartment complex for refusing to let her keep her therapeutic companion animal, a bull terrier named "Jack," in her apartment.

Plaintiff Katharina "Katy" Simo, 20, claims in her federal civil-rights lawsuit that she has been diagnosed as suffering from "anxiety disorder and depression and emotional impairments, which substantially limit her major life activities of self-care and learning."

The dog, she maintains, helps her feel and function better – but she's facing eviction for keeping it in her apartment.

Contacted this week, the property manager at Riverpark declined to comment on the case, and referred questions to a statutory agent of AAC Athens, LLC, the property owner. When The Athens NEWS called the company, the person who answered the phone said the statutory agent, George R. Nickerson, was out of town and unavailable for comment.

Attorney Melissa Greenlee of OU's Center for Student Legal Services said Tuesday that the legal clinic doesn't typically handle federal-rights litigation for students, "but we have discretion to do so."

Also involved in the case is attorney Stephen M. Dane, of the Perrysburg, Ohio, law firm of Relman, Dane & Colfax, which specializes in fair-housing discrimination suits.

Dane said both federal and state statutes and case law mandate that a housing provider must make reasonable accommodations for a person with a disability, and that Simo qualifies.

"All persons with disabilities are protected by the federal and state fair-housing laws," he said, noting that both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have made this abundantly clear in memos.

Greenlee said the case involves an important legal principle. "This is a pretty big case, and an important case for our client," she said. "It's certainly not entered into lightly."

She added that she wrote to Riverpark to ask that the complex waive its no-pet policy for Simo, but got no reply.

"I was very surprised that we received no response," she said.

Simo's psychological condition qualifies as a "handicap" under the federal Fair Housing Act, her suit alleges, and requires a housing provider, under both U.S. and Ohio law, to make "reasonable accommodations" for the student's disability.

In this case, Simo is asking for an exemption from Riverpark's "no-pet" policy, to allow her to keep Jack in the apartment she shares with her boyfriend.

The suit, filed Feb. 17, says that Simo's therapist and psychiatrist have prescribed a companion animal as "a means of facilitating her therapeutic treatment," and that she has shown this prescription to officials of the company that manages Riverpark, asking for a policy waiver to let her keep the dog, which she got from her boyfriend's parents last December, but later had to get rid of because of the no-pet policy.

After obtaining the dog, the complaint says, Simo "developed an emotional bond" with the animal, and began to see improvements in her anxiety and depression.

"The mere presence of Jack has the effect of calming Katharina and ameliorating the effects of her psychological impairments," improving the quality of her life, the suit claims.

In January, however, Riverpark's property manager allegedly called Simo and her boyfriend, and told them that they needed to remove the dog immediately or face eviction the following day. Simo took the dog back to its original owners, and, the suit alleges, her anxiety and related symptoms began to worsen, making it hard for her to attend class or take part in other activities.

Simo then got a prescription for a companion animal, plus a letter from her therapist and psychiatrist, indicating their professional opinion that "dog ownership and care is a viable treatment approach in dealing with college students and their anxiety."

The property manager responded with a letter Jan. 18 stating that Riverpark would not allow the dog to return, and demanding a signed, notarized statement confirming that the dog would never return to the apartment; failure to produce this, the letter warned, would result in eviction.

Simo is reportedly still living at Riverpark, but is facing possible eviction. Her lawsuit claims she paid her February rent, but that the apartment returned the check, informing her that the case had been handed over to the company's attorney, and Riverpark would accept no more rent payments from her.

On Feb. 7, Simo filed discrimination complaint with HUD and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. A few days later, she filed a second set of complaints, alleging that Riverpark had retaliated against her with the eviction notice, in response to her challenging the apartment complex over what she saw as her civil rights.

Her federal suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus, alleges that Riverpark has violated both federal and state fair-housing laws, and has been negligent by not taking steps to provide a discrimination-free facility.

She seeks an injunction to require Riverpark to address the issue, as well as unspecified money damages, to be determined by a judge or jury, that would "fully compensate her for her injuries sustained" because of the alleged discrimination.