Diane Stolbach Authors Article in YieldPro, “How to Assess a Resident’s Request for an Emotional Support Animal”
Diane Stolbach, counsel in the firm’s Commercial Real Estate and Corporate & Business Law practices, recently authored an article in Yield PRO magazine in response to the 2024 NJ Supreme Court decision in Players Place II Condominium Ass’n v. K.P. The article discusses the increase in requests for emotional support animals (ESA) in housing, the basis for liability if a disabled resident’s request is denied and current trends in fraudulent cases abusing loopholes with ESAs. The article explains the different legal treatment between service dogs, therapy dogs, and ESAs.
“The Players Court acknowledged that a housing provider isn’t obligated to do everything humanly possible or make an accommodation that will cure or eliminate the disability. If the housing provider can prove that the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or has, or would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others, that would be a factor for supporting a denial,” writes Stolbach.
The article concludes:
“The 2024 Players decision which sent the case back to the trial court after years of litigation shows how ESA requests can generate costly, lengthy disputes. To navigate these waters, a housing provider can be guided by its insurance carrier, examples in university housing policies, disability accommodations used in the employment setting, governmental best practices guides published in 2020 such as can be found at yeildpro.com/hudesa and the framework set by the Players decision.”
To read the full article in Yield PRO, click here.