News Stories The following are news stories in which Matthew Dietz appears or are about cases that the Law Offices of Matthew W. Dietz has handled or has rendered advice. These news stories are intended for informational and educational purposes only, and each matter is unique to each client. If you have questions or need more informaiton, please call the Law Offices of Matthew W. Dietz. To view and listen to the news stories, please click on the photograph for the video, or the article. Diner Discrimination .jpg) 12/19/2006: A restaurant manager at Jumbo Buffet is arrested after refusing to serve a visually-impaired woman. In Florida, not only does such acts violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act, it is a criminal misdemeanor to deny access to a person with a disability who uses a service animal.
Recreational Rights  Andrew Houghton puts the Ability into disAbility. Here he demonstrates how outdated conceptions of what people can or can not do can and should be stopped. For more about Andrew Houghton, see his website for Disability Inclusion Solutions. HIV Discrimination - Man With HIV Denied Hair Transplant 
A South Florida man claims he was refused a hair transplant because he is HIV positive, and now he's suing the doctor who denied him the new do for discrimination. This case is a case of first impression in Florida under the Florida Omnibus AIDS Act, which protects persons with HIV and AIDS against unwarranted discrimination in all aspects of their lives, and serves to encourage people to get tested without fear of retaliation. Fair Housing Cases Reasonable accommodations Clem's Houseboat 
In this matter, Clement, a veteran who currently uses a wheelchair was denied the ability to install a ramp on the dock of the pier in which he docked his houseboat Elevator Repair To Strand Couple In Home 
In this matter, Mr. Dietz was interviewed in a case where a 97-year-old man and his 88-year-old wife were going to be stuck in their home when the single elevator in the building is shut down for up to six weeks. It would be a reasonable accommodation for the condominium association to provide alternate accommodations for the couple. If transportation is provided, it must be provided to everyone! 
In this matter, Mr. Dietz represented a man who wanted to use the communities mini-van to go shopping, like any other residents. It is a reasonable accommodation to ensure that if the community provides transportation for its residents, it cannot leave out its residents who use wheelchairs. Familial Status A Landlord cannot require children to maintain their grades!  The landlord of a mobile home park required as a condition of tenancy that children must maintain good grades at all times. Because you cannot require adults to behave at their place of employment, a landlord cannot require children to maintain good grades. Such differing treatment is familial status discrimination. A housing provider cannot have separate rules for children than adults. 
A landlord cannot provide separate occupancy rules for children and for adults. In this clip, the housing provider allowed two adults to occupy a room, but only one child per room. 
Similarly, in the above matter, the Condominum Association applied a four person per apartment standard, even though the apartments ranged from 1,500 s.f. to 2,500 s.f. An occupancy requirement must have some relation to the size or other business interests of the association. Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Housing - 
Are people being discriminated because they are gay? If it could happen on Miami Beach, it could happen anywhere. See Gay Hate in Miami Beach - by Natalie O'Neall in the Miami New Times, October 15, 2008. THE FLORIDA BAR NEWS: Disabled lawyers want to be full players in legal profession Rule would provide better court access to the disabled Disability advocates seek rule change to promote consistency The recommendations from the Disability Independence Group |
