A former SF State graduate student is suing the university and the Village at Centennial Square, claiming his California disability civil rights were violated when he was allegedly denied a disabled-accessible room.

William Faust, 48, filed a civil rights complaint in San Francisco Superior Court in June 2003 after he slipped and fell in his bathroom shower while living in a non-disabled-accessible apartment at the Village on Aug. 25, 2002.

The Village is owned and managed by San Francisco State University Foundation, Inc. and EAH, Inc., respectively.

Since his accident, one of his doctors, Adrian Bartoli of St. Luke’s Hospital, and Student Health Service Center (SHS) doctor Jacqueline Whang, have determined him to be permanently disabled. In a May 2003 letter, Whang said the fall “exacerbated his (prior) condition.”

“The fall has greatly increased severe levels of my physical pain,” Faust said. “There has been a severe diminishment of life in my daily activities and I need assistance 24 hours a day.”

Faust, who enrolled in the summer semester at SF State to begin his teaching and education administration credentials, alleged that he was denied adequate housing facilities during the 2002 summer months, in court documents.

At the time, Faust said he suffered from spinal degenerative disc disease, disc herniations of the spine and unequal leg lengths and he felt he needed a room that could accommodate his disability, specifically a walk-in shower.

Prior to his June arrival at the Village, Faust claimed he confirmed with the Village that there were disabled-accessible rooms available to accommodate his request.

When Faust arrived at the Village he was assigned to apartment 605-B, a conventional room although he said he provided a letter with his application stating his disabled condition. Faust’s attorney, Karen Kissler, stated in court documents the box to identify him as disabled was too small and he “forgot to check this box.”

Faust claimed he provided numerous documentations of his prior disabilities with the help of the Disability Programs Resource Center (DPRC) and SHS doctors, but his requests for an accommodating room were ignored. In a letter dated July 31, 2002 to DPRC, Whang of SHS stated that Faust suffered from the aforementioned conditions.

“When I came to State, I had physical limitations that amounted to a disability,” Faust said. “That’s why I could not understand why they would not give me a room.”

In a deposition, Gina Leachman, manager of the Village, said that there were disabled-accessible bed spaces available during the months in question.

Leachman claimed that when Faust applied to live at the school housing facility he never filled out the portions on the application requesting a disabled-accessible room, nor did the Village receive a letter from Faust informing them of his condition, according to court documents.

The housing application is not the only way students can inform the Village of their disability. According to court documents, students can inform EAH, Inc. of their disabilities a number of ways, in person, over the phone or via email, for example.

In a legal declaration, Leachman claimed that the first time she knew about Faust’s request for a disabled-accessible room was on August 21, 2002, after a meeting he had with Michael Murphy, then general manager of the Village.

The following day and three days before Faust’s fall, an apartment was allegedly located to accommodate Faust, to which he agreed, according to Leachman’s declaration. He was to move in Sept. 6, 2002. Faust claims that no such agreement was made; it was only after his accident that the Village offered and moved him into an appropriate room in building C.

A statement from the defendants’ attorneys states “EAH, Inc. is committed to providing apartments for our entire diverse student population. Although I cannot comment on the Faust matter because it is presently set for trial, EAH, Inc. denies it has ever discriminated against or denied access to any of our tenants. Without commenting on the litigation, EAH, Inc. states that we treated Mr. Faust fairly, as we do all of our tenants, and expects the Court to rule in our favor.”

A jury trial is set for Nov. 1 in a San Francisco Superior Court.