Marshall Dennehey attorneys successfully defended a claim of housing discrimination filed with the New York State Human Rights Commission. The complainant, who was receiving disability payments under the Social Security Program and Supplemental Security Income Program (SSI), sought to purchase a unit within our client’s cooperative association building. The application was submitted through her mother, who claimed that her daughter would be the only resident and that the only source of funds that would be used to pay the monthly maintenance fee would come from the income of her disabled daughter. The application was denied by our client on the basis of “financial concerns and probable investment use.” In her complaint to the New York State Division of Human Rights, the daughter alleged that denial of the application arose from the Board’s bias towards her for being disabled. The defense strategy focused on the “business judgment rule” which states that, absent a showing of discrimination, self-dealing or misconduct by Board members, corporate directors are presumed to be acting in good faith and in the exercise of honest judgment in the lawful and legitimate furtherance of corporate business. The defense also argued that  the complainant never met her burden of establishing bias on the part of the Board, or that the Board acted outside the scope of its authority or in bad faith. In agreeing with our position, the New York State Division of Human Rights found there was insufficient evidence to relate the alleged disability and our client’s decision to reject the application to purchase the unit.