Opinion
Civil Case No. 12-11442-NMG
08-15-2013
JANICE N. GRAVES, Plaintiff, v. FEDERAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY INC., RICHARD HENKEN, NILSA MONTEIRO, PETER LEWIS and THERESA COOK, Defendants.
MEMORANDUM & ORDER
GORTON , J.
Plaintiff alleges that she suffers from certain qualifying disabilities and that, inter alia, defendants violated the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et. seq. ("the FHA"), by failing to accommodate several requests with respect to those disabilities that were reasonable and necessary to afford her an equal opportunity to use and enjoy her leased premises. Defendants duly moved to dismiss the Complaint. On August 9, 2013 this Court heard oral argument on that motion, set a Scheduling Order and took the matter under advisement.
Under the circumstances, the Court concludes that defendants' motion should be allowed but that the Complaint should be dismissed without prejudice. Although it incorporates some 27 exhibits apparently constituting the factual basis for her claims, the Complaint is devoid of specific factual allegations describing how the alleged denial of her requests for reasonable accommodation prevented plaintiff from having an equal opportunity to use and enjoy her dwelling. See Colon-Jimenez v. GR Mgmt. Corp., 218 F. App'x 2, 3 (1st Cir. 2007) (identifying elements of relevant FHA claim). The original Complaint was, however, filed while plaintiff was proceeding pro se and plaintiff has since retained counsel. Accordingly, the Court will permit plaintiff to file an amended complaint within 30 days that includes such specific factual allegations. In order to afford defendant sufficient time to file responsive pleadings, the Court will also extend all discovery deadlines contained within the Scheduling Order by 60 days.
ORDER
In accordance with the foregoing,
1) defendant's motion to dismiss (Docket No. 23) is ALLOWED and the Complaint is dismissed without prejudice;
2) plaintiff shall file her amended complaint, if any, on or before Friday, September 13, 2013; and
3) all case deadlines set forth in the Scheduling Order are extended by 60 days.
So ordered.
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Nathaniel M. Gorton
United States District Judge