In the Matter of Marine Holdings, LLC, et al., Respondents,v.New York City Commission on Human Rights, Appellant, et al., Respondent.BriefN.Y.March 27, 2018APL-2017-00025 Court of Appeals State of New York In the Matter of MARINE HOLDINGS, LLC D/B/A MARINE TERRACE ASSOCIATES, LLC AND WEN MANAGEMENT CORP. Petitioners-Respondents, against NEW YORK CITY COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, Respondent-Appellant. BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE LAW FIRMS IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENT-APPELLANT MARIANN MEIER WANG Cuti Hecker Wang LLP 305 Broadway, Suite 607 New York, New York 10007 (212) 620-2600 Dated: February 5, 2018_New York, New York TABLE OF CONTENTS iiDISCLOSURE STATEMENTS ARGUMENT 1 3CONCLUSION i DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS Cuti Hecker Wang LLP is a domestic limited liability partnership. It has no parents, subsidiaries, or affiliates. Joseph & Kirschenbaum LLP is a domestic limited liability partnership. It has no parents, subsidiaries, or affiliates. Law Office of Kevin Mintzer, P.C. is a domestic professional corporation. It has no parents, subsidiaries, or affiliates. Outten & Golden LLP is a domestic limited liability partnership. It has no parents, subsidiaries, or affiliates. Eisenberg & Schnell LLP is a domestic limited liability partnership. It has no parents, subsidiaries, or affiliates. Ritz Clark & Ben-Asher LLP is a domestic limited liability partnership. It has no parents, subsidiaries, or affiliates. ii Amicus Curiae Cuti Hecker Wang LLP, Joseph & Kirschenbaum LLP, the Law Office of Kevin Mintzer, P.C., Outten & Golden LLP, Eisenberg & Schnell LLP, and Ritz Clark & Ben-Asher LLP (collectively, “the Amicus Law Firms”) submit this brief in support of the New York City Commission on Human Rights (the “Commission”) in the above-referenced matter, and to provide our firms’ collective experience and perspective on the significant and crucial role that the Commission provides in cases like this, where a person with a disability and modest means seeks a reasonable accommodation in her housing accommodation. Our firms litigate a variety of constitutional, civil, and human rights matters, including routinely representing victims of discrimination in New York City. We are of course committed to fighting for our clients and against injustice, but we are also trying to make a living, and seek to be compensated for our work. Housing discrimination cases on behalf of individuals with disabilities seeking a reasonable accommodation can be difficult for firms like ours to take on. That is not due to such cases’ lack of merit or our own lack of desire to combat injustice, but the reality is that properly prosecuting many such actions- particularly when they are against intractable landlords who already have an established record of refusing outright the accommodation in any form- requires hiring and paying an expert at the outset to assess architecturally or structurally the accommodation, and then pursuing the case for years without being paid, even as the client continues to suffer through the lack of accessibility. And although New York City Human Rights Law allows for fee shifting to a prevailing party, N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-502(g), taking on such individual cases routinely or with any particular volume would not be feasible economically for firms like ours and many others. It is precisely for this reason that the Commission serves a particularly vital role for individuals with disabilities who are faced with inaccessible housing and require an accommodation, because private attorneys are less likely to be able to take these matters on. Moreover, precisely because the Commission has assumed the primary role of prosecuting such cases, and has developed expertise in doing so, it is all the more important for courts to defer to the Commissioner’s findings as long as they are supported by substantial evidence, as the standard requires. 2 CONCLUSION For the reasons above, and the reasons set forth in Appellant’s filings, the Court should reverse the Appellate Division’s decision. Dated: New York, New York February 5, 2018 Respectfully submitted CUTI HECKER WANG LLP 11If(L'UBy: Mariann Meier Wang 305 Broadway, Suite 607 New York, New York 10007 (212) 620-2603 mwang@chwllp.com Counsel for Amici Law Firms 3 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH 22 NYCRR §500.1 and 500.13(c)(1) I hereby certify that: 1. This brief complies with the type-volume limitation of 500.13(c)(1) because the total word count for all printed text in the body of the brief, exclusive of the table of contents, the table of authorities, and the disclosure statement required by 500.13(a) is 450 words. 2. This brief complies with the typeface requirements and type style requirements of 500.1(j)(l) because the body of this brief has been prepared in a proportionally spaced typeface using Microsoft Word 2011 in 14-point Times New Roman. 'lA/l OAA'CLAAA. Mariann Meier Wang Attorney for Amicus Curiae Dated: February 5, 2018 COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF NEW YORK x MARINE HOLDINGS, LLC D/B/A MARINE TERRACE ASSOCS., LLC and WEN MGMT. CORP.; Index No.: 2017-00025 Petitioners-Respondents, AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE Y. NEW YORK CITY COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, Respondent-Appellant. ■x Alex Hunter, a paralegal at Cuti Hecker Wang LLP, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am over 18 years of age and not a party to this action.1. 2. On February 15, 2018,1 caused to have three copies of the Brief of Amicus Curiae Law Firms delivered to MacKenzie Fillow, on behalf of Zachary Carter, Attorney for Respondent-Appellant, and Avery S. Mehlman, Attorney for Petitioners- Respondents, respectively, by U.S. Mail at the following addresses: 1. MacKenzie Fillow, on behalf of Zachary Carter, Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, 100 Church Street, New York, New York, 10007. 2. Avery S. Mehlman, Herrick Feinstein LLP, Two Park Avenue, New York, New York, 10016. Dated: February 15, 2018 New York, New York z Alex Hunter Sworn to Before Me This 15th Day of February 2018 NOTARY PUBLIC HOP 02.fHuOo W4 QG-'iW & CXVU-\