Boise County Owes $4 million for Violating FHA

Dec. 21, 2010 - PRLog -- United States District Court for the District of Idaho
Alamar Ranch, LLC and YTC CCL versus County of Boise

On Thursday, December 17, 2010, an eight-person jury unanimously awarded Alamar Ranch $4 million in damages to be paid by Boise County for violating provisions of the Fair Housing Act.

In April 2007, Alamar Ranch filed an application for a conditional use permit to build and operate a high quality 72-bed residential treatment facility for youth. In March 2008, Boise County approved a conditional use permit for Alamar Ranch but imposed numerous conditions (including a helipad, a 24/7 manned fire station in addition to a paved exit road and a new bridge), which would have cost millions of dollars. The commissioners required these conditions while, at the same time, reducing the size of the facility from 72 to 24 beds. Alamar Ranch contended in their lawsuit that these conditions, combined with the reduction in beds, made the residential treatment center financially unfeasible.

Further, the lawsuit contended that Boise County’s conduct was unlawful because the county bowed to community pressure to exclude handicapped residents from living in their neighborhood, in clear violation of the provisions of the Fair Housing Act (FHA).  The FHA expressly prohibits this kind of discrimination by governmental entities.

Erik Oaas, whose firm Oaas Laney intended to develop Alamar Ranch, stated, “I hope this verdict sends a clear message to Boise County and other elected officials that they have a duty to follow and enforce the law. We are pleased with the jury’s verdict and believe that it is truly a shame that the commissioners prevented the development of this center, which we continue to believe would have been a tremendous asset to Boise County.”

Thomas Banducci and Wade Woodard, attorneys at Banducci Woodard Schwartzman PLLC, represented Alamar in this action. When asked about the results, attorney Woodard said, “We are pleased that our clients were vindicated and believe that the jury verdict  serves as a wake up call to local governments that the rights of the handicapped should not be ignored."

The jury heard 9 days of testimony in the case, which was tried in U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, and reached their unanimous verdict after 5-6 hours of deliberation.

About Banducci Woodard Schwartzman (BWS) PLLC
BWS PLLC is based in Boise, Idaho with a practice that focuses exclusively on complex commercial litigation.

About Oaas Laney LLC
Boise based Oaas Laney identifies develops and maintains financially attractive and well-diversified projects in the Northwest.

Visit http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/12/21/1462743/boise-co... for more details.

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BWS PLLC is an innovative, effective legal services firm that focuses exclusively on complex commercial and civil litigation. The Boise based firm has a proven track record of securing favorable outcomes for their clients.

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