Complaint filed by USDOJ on behalf of resident, allege discrimination against resident
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a fair housing complaint against the Woodlands at Montgomery, 227 W. Montgomery Crossroad, alleging that the apartment complex discriminated against a resident afflicted with scoliosis by not offering a first-floor unit to her and attempting to charge her additional fees for a larger apartment space, which she needed for her disability.
The discrimination complaint is filed on behalf of Lisa Vollmer. Also named in the complaint as defendants: the Housing Authority of Savannah (HAS), the Kittle Property Group (KPG), Paula Williams, the then-property manager of Woodlands at Montgomery, and the Housing Opportunities Unlimited (HOU).
“Defendants’ failure to accommodate Ms. Vollmer with a first-floor unit forced her to struggle getting up and down the stairs to her unit, limited the times she could leave her home, diminished her quality of life, and exacerbated her physical disability over time,” the complaint reads.
In a phone call, HAS Executive Director Earline Davis declined comment and referred the Savannah Morning News to HAS’ attorney. HAS’ attorney, Dana Braun of Ellis, Painter, Ratterree & Adams, LLP, did not respond to a call for comment.
In a phone call, Vollmer declined comment and referred the SMN to a fair housing attorney who is representing her.
“Everybody deserves equal enjoyment of homes that are discrimination-free, and Ms. Vollmer didn’t receive that at all,” said Allison Slagowitz of Slagowitz Law Firm, who is representing Vollmer.
Barry L. Paschal, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Georgia, declined to comment.
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What does the lawsuit allege?
The lawsuit goes into granular detail about an 18-month-long process in which Vollmer was denied multiple requests to move into a lower-level unit by representatives with HAS, KPG, HOU and Woodlands Apartments. The suit, filed on April 11, comes more than two years after the SMN published a story on Vollmer’s housing obstacles.
In 2019, Vollmer was living at Chatham Apartments when the building was bought by a developer that displaced her along with 250 other low-income, elderly and often infirm residents, many of whom received federal rental assistance, according to previous reporting by SMN. One year later, the developer sold the building to the Savannah College of Art and Design, which, at the time, was renovating the complex for student dorms.
Abercorn Apartments, which owned Chatham Apartments, hired Defendant HOU to relocate the residents of Chatham Apartments, according to the complaint.
From there, Vollmer was assigned to a second-floor unit in Woodlands Apartments, which does not have an elevator, despite confirming her scoliosis diagnosis on her housing application form, according to the lawsuit.
The suit details five instances that a representative with the HAS or Woodlands Apartments denied paying for Vollmer’s transfer, moving costs or a larger voucher size. Instead, in three instances, a representative with the HAS or Woodlands Apartments offered Vollmer a chance to not renew her lease or pursue early termination, which would incur a $500 penalty, according to the lawsuit.
Both times Vollmer was offered a first-floor unit, the offers fell through. In one case, a representative with Woodlands Apartments rescinded an offer because another “resident failed to vacate the unit.” A resident who lived at a lower-level unit said they would switch units with Vollmer, but a staff member with KPG, the property management company, said residents could not switch apartments, according to the suit.
A representative with HOU offered a first-floor unit at another apartment complex, but Vollmer declined it, saying it was “too far from her medical providers," the suit states.
Two “reasonable accommodation letters”, one from JC Vision and the other Vollmer's doctor, were sent on Vollmer's behalf, but apartment complex management did not act on either, the suit alleges.
On April 11, 2022, more than a year and a half after Vollmer moved into the inaccessible unit at Woodlands Apartments and less than one month after the SMN published its story, Vollmer moved to a first-floor unit, according to the suit.
“On or around March 16, 2022, a two-bedroom, first-floor apartment became available at Woodlands Apartments,” the lawsuit describes. “Although it had refused to do so in the past, the Housing Authority agreed to allow Ms. Vollmer to increase her voucher size from one-bedroom to two bedroom at no additional cost to her as a reasonable accommodation so that she could transfer to the unit.”
Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@savannahnow.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Complaint filed by USDOJ on behalf of resident, allege discrimination against resident
