Wilmington, Delaware – A wrongful eviction case in Wilmington, Delaware has been dismissed by U.S. District Judge Colm F. Connolly, prompting an appeal from the plaintiff’s attorney, Thomas S. Neuberger. The plaintiff, William Murphy, who is 56 years old and in poor health, had moved to Maryland instead of returning to his Wilmington home. Neuberger argues that the judge failed to recognize the duty of local governments to provide “reasonable accommodations” to individuals with disabilities, including court constables carrying out evictions.
Neuberger contends that the Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that reasonable accommodations be made when providing judicial services to disabled individuals. In this case, the eviction team arrived at Murphy’s home during a COVID lockdown and a snowstorm, unaware that it was the wrong property. Upon realizing that Murphy was blind and accompanied by his two young children, the team proceeded with the eviction, leaving the family homeless for the next 13 days.
Neuberger asserts that the judge made a legal error by not addressing the duty to provide reasonable accommodation once Murphy’s disability was identified. He argues that a hearing should have been held, and the constables and judicial system made a significant mistake. Chief Magistrate Alan Davis, who heads the Justice of the Peace Court, declined to comment due to the pending appeal.
The eviction process manipulation by constable Aaron Stanford, responsible for the wrongful eviction, may have been motivated by frustration with pandemic-related court backlogs. Stanford had threatened to evict Murphy if he failed to pay $375 in unpaid rent, which was delayed due to the court backlog. Neuberger clarifies that Murphy was up to date with his rent by the time of the wrongful eviction. Regardless, Neuberger criticizes the constables for not returning to their superiors and the chief magistrate before proceeding with the eviction. He questions the justification for putting the family on the streets when waiting an extra day would have made no significant difference.
The case has now been appealed to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. Neuberger believes that the judge’s dismissal of the lawsuit was a legal error and hopes for a reconsideration of the duty to provide reasonable accommodation to disabled individuals during the eviction process.