The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana has ruled in favor of four operators of group homes and their residents, finding that Indiana unlawfully discriminated against them in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, and the Rehabilitation Act.
The cases involved Place of Grace and Harmony Home of Huntington, both in Huntington County; Inspiration Ministries in DeKalb County; and Next Step Recovery Home in Dubois County. Each operates homes for people recovering from substance abuse disorders, where residents live together in a family-style setting, receive treatment, and work together to achieve and maintain sobriety.
Although the homes are traditional single-family residences located in residential neighborhoods, the State of Indiana classified them as Class 1, or commercial structures, because of who lived there. That classification subjected the homes to costly and burdensome requirements not imposed on comparable homes occupied by nuclear families, which are treated as Class 2 residential structures.
In a series of decisions issued on March 10 and 11, Judge Tanya Walton Pratt held that the state’s refusal to treat the homes as Class 2 residential structures amounted to unlawful discrimination. The court granted summary judgment for the nonprofit operators and permanently ordered the state to treat the homes as Class 1 residential structures.
Because Place of Grace was required to meet the heightened and improper standards for two new homes that it built, the Court also awarded $206,232.11 in damages to cover those additional costs.
“We are very gratified by these results,” said Ken Falk, Legal Director of the ACLU of Indiana. “Discrimination against people with disabilities has no place in our communities, and we are pleased the Court recognized these unlawful actions for what they were.”
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