Chris Nesi
New Jersey's highest court is about to tackle its ruffest case yet — involving an emotional-support dog deemed too heavy to live in his owners' condo complex.
The Camden housing site says it has a bone to pick with the pooch's owners because the facility is only supposed to allow pets weighing 30 pounds or less, but Luna the black Lab mix is 70 pounds, NJ.com reported.
After a dogged legal dispute between both sides, the case has now wound up in front of the state's supreme court, where a landmark ruling is expected.
In 2018, the couple — who are only identified by their initials in court papers because the woman suffers from conditions such as anxiety and bi-polarism — sought an exception to the Player's Place II condo complex's strict pet policy regarding her service dog, the outlet said.
The pair reportedly asked for a formal exception before the pooch came aboard but then didn't wait for a response and moved the adopted pet in anyway.
A Camden housing site says the facility is only supposed to allow pets weighing 30 pounds or less, but Luna the black Lab mix is 70 pounds.
The condo board pursued a court order to banish Luna from the complex, with its president testifying at one point that the weight restriction was in place because of past incidents involving larger dogs on the property, including "attacks", landscape damage, and noise complaints.
Lower courts went back and forth on the issue till it recently arrived in front of the top panel.
The state's supreme court must now decide whether the condo board's refusal to grant a "reasonable accommodation" for Luna constitutes a violation of New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination.
Luna is apparently still living with her owners in the meantime.
A couple sought an exception to the Player's Place II condo complex's strict pet policy regarding her service dog.Valleybrook Home AssociationThe state's supreme court must decide whether the condo board's refusal to grant a "reasonable accommodation" for Luna constitutes a violation of New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination. Valleybrook Home Association
The high court's ruling could set a precedent that limits the restrictions housing providers can place on emotional support animals.
Talbot Kramer, the couple's lawyer, said he is well aware that some unscrupulous people may seek to falsely register their pets as service animals but insists his clients are not among them.
Talbot Kramer is the couple's lawyer, hoping to find a way to keep Luna with her family. Freidel and Kramer,
"We can all acknowledge the people that go online, get some hocus-pocus certification for 50 bucks from some organization that may ask a couple of questions so they can wave it around and say, 'I got an emotional support dog, leave me alone,' " Talbot said.
But this case is "about the needs of a person who had certain handicaps, who had a fix, and then had someone trying to take it away," he said.
The high court will next hear oral arguments from both sides at a yet-to-be-determined date.
New Jersey's highest court is about to tackle its ruffest case yet — involving an emotional-support dog deemed too heavy to live in his owners' condo complex.
The Camden housing site says it has a bone to pick with the pooch's owners because the facility is only supposed to allow pets weighing 30 pounds or less, but Luna the black Lab mix is 70 pounds, NJ.com reported.
After a dogged legal dispute between both sides, the case has now wound up in front of the state's supreme court, where a landmark ruling is expected.
In 2018, the couple — who are only identified by their initials in court papers because the woman suffers from conditions such as anxiety and bi-polarism — sought an exception to the Player's Place II condo complex's strict pet policy regarding her service dog, the outlet said.
The pair reportedly asked for a formal exception before the pooch came aboard but then didn't wait for a response and moved the adopted pet in anyway.
A Camden housing site says the facility is only supposed to allow pets weighing 30 pounds or less, but Luna the black Lab mix is 70 pounds.
The condo board pursued a court order to banish Luna from the complex, with its president testifying at one point that the weight restriction was in place because of past incidents involving larger dogs on the property, including "attacks", landscape damage, and noise complaints.
Lower courts went back and forth on the issue till it recently arrived in front of the top panel.
The state's supreme court must now decide whether the condo board's refusal to grant a "reasonable accommodation" for Luna constitutes a violation of New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination.
Luna is apparently still living with her owners in the meantime.
A couple sought an exception to the Player's Place II condo complex's strict pet policy regarding her service dog.Valleybrook Home AssociationThe state's supreme court must decide whether the condo board's refusal to grant a "reasonable accommodation" for Luna constitutes a violation of New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination. Valleybrook Home Association
The high court's ruling could set a precedent that limits the restrictions housing providers can place on emotional support animals.
Talbot Kramer, the couple's lawyer, said he is well aware that some unscrupulous people may seek to falsely register their pets as service animals but insists his clients are not among them.
Talbot Kramer is the couple's lawyer, hoping to find a way to keep Luna with her family. Freidel and Kramer,
"We can all acknowledge the people that go online, get some hocus-pocus certification for 50 bucks from some organization that may ask a couple of questions so they can wave it around and say, 'I got an emotional support dog, leave me alone,' " Talbot said.
But this case is "about the needs of a person who had certain handicaps, who had a fix, and then had someone trying to take it away," he said.
The high court will next hear oral arguments from both sides at a yet-to-be-determined date.
