WESTLAKE VILLAGE : Group Sued Over Disabled Parking

A Westlake Village man has sued the Westlake Bay Homeowners Assn., claiming that the group illegally deprived him of a handicapped parking space, then towed away his car when he parked in spaces reserved for guests.

Edward Abrams, 34, said he has fallen and hurt himself several times while trying to use his assigned parking spot, which he said is about 500 feet from his front door.

Abrams, who uses a wheelchair or crutches to walk because of a growth on his spine, said he has a state-issued license plate indicating that he is handicapped. He said the Social Security Administration considers him totally disabled. But in January, he said, the association removed the “handicapped” designation from the parking spot he had been using. “They felt I shouldn’t have any special privileges,” Abrams said.

His suit, filed in Ventura County Superior Court, seeks more than $5 million in damages. It claims that the homeowners association violated the federal Fair Housing Act and the state’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. Both laws require individuals and institutions to take reasonable steps to accommodate handicapped people.

Jim Keenan, head of the complex’s management company, declined to comment on the suit. No hearing has been scheduled for the case, which was assigned to Judge Bruce A. Thompson.