Wilson v. Glenwood Intermountain Properties, Inc.
| Decision Date | 01 February 1995 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 94-C-745. |
| Citation | 876 F. Supp. 1231 |
| Parties | Mark WILSON and Anne Walker, Plaintiffs, v. GLENWOOD INTERMOUNTAIN PROPERTIES, INC.; D. Roger and Bonnie L. Conrad; Branbury Park, Inc; Data-Prop Management, Inc.; David E. and Barbara K. Nagel; Kent S. and Lana R. Gilbert; Tapp/Sorensen Partnership; Elaine M. Miller; John E. Knudsen and Kelly W. Romney Partnership; and Glen C. Rowland, Defendants. Brigham Young University, a Utah corporation, Intervenor. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Utah |
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Jensie L. Anderson, American Civ. Liberties Union of Utah Foundation, Inc., Bruce Plenk, Utah Legal Services, Salt Lake City, UT, for plaintiffs.
Richard M. Hymas, Nielsen & Senior, Salt Lake City, UT, for defendants.
Mary Anne Q. Wood, Kathryn O. Balmforth, Wood, Spendlove & Quinn, L.L.C., Salt Lake City, UT, Eugene H. Bramhall, David B. Thomas, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, for intervenor.
This matter is before the court on three related motions for summary judgment: (1) a motion for summary judgment filed by plaintiffs Mark Wilson and Anne Walker ("Plaintiffs"); (2) a motion for summary judgment filed by defendants Glenwood Intermountain Properties, Inc., D. Roger and Bonnie L. Conrad, Branbury Park, Inc., Data-Prop Management, Inc., David E. and Barbara K. Nagel, Kent S. and Lana R. Gilbert, Tapp/Sorensen Partnership, Elaine M. Miller, John E. Knudsen and Kelly W. Romney Partnership, and Glen C. Rowland (collectively referred to as "Defendants" or "Defendant Landlords"); and (3) a motion for summary judgment filed by Intervenor Brigham Young University ("Intervenor" or "BYU"). The court held a hearing on all three motions on January 18, 1995 at 8:00 a.m. At the hearing, Mr. Bruce Plenk on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union represented the Plaintiffs, Mr. Richard M. Hymas represented the Defendant Landlords, and Ms. Mary Anne Q. Wood and Mr. David B. Thomas represented Intervenor BYU.
Before the hearing, the court considered carefully the memoranda and other materials submitted by each of the parties relating to the three motions. The court had also read certain of the authorities cited by each of the parties. Following oral argument, and after taking all three motions under advisement, the court has further considered the law and facts related to each motion. Having now fully considered the issues in this case, and good cause appearing, the court enters the following Memorandum Decision and Order.
Plaintiff Mark Wilson ("Wilson") is a twenty-year old unmarried male who resides in Utah County, State of Utah. Plaintiff Anne Walker ("Walker") is an eighteen-year old unmarried female who also resides in Utah County, State of Utah. Neither Wilson nor Walker has any children. Together, they make up the plaintiffs in this case.
Defendant Glenwood Intermountain Properties, Inc. ("Glenwood") is a for-profit Utah corporation which manages the Glenwood, Raintree, and Riviera apartment complexes. Defendants D. Roger and Bonnie L. Conrad ("the Conrads") are individuals who own and manage the University Park apartment complex. Defendant Branbury Park, Inc. ("Branbury") is a for-profit Utah corporation which owns and manages the Branbury Park apartment complex. Defendant Data-Prop Management, Inc. ("Data-Prop") is a for-profit Utah corporation which manages the Manavu and Courtside condominium complexes. Defendants David E. and Barbara K. Nagel ("the Nagels") are individuals who own and manage the Belmont apartment complex. Defendants Kent S. and Lana R. Gilbert ("the Gilberts") are individuals who own and manage the Windfield apartment complex. Defendant Tapp/Sorensen Partnership ("Tapp/Sorensen") is a for-profit partnership which owns and manages the Berkshire apartment complex. Defendant Elaine M. Miller ("Miller") is an individual who owns and manages the Miller apartment complex. Defendant John E. Knudsen & Kelly W. Romney Partnership ("Knudsen/Romney") is a for-profit partnership which owns and manages the Banbridge Square apartment complex. Defendant Glen C. Rowland ("Rowland") is an individual who owns and manages the Campus Plaza apartment complex. Together, Glenwood, the Conrads, Branbury, Data-Prop, the Nagels, the Gilberts, Tapp/Sorensen, Miller, Knudsen/Romney, and Rowland make up the defendants in this case. All of these defendants either own or operate for-profit apartment complexes located in the Provo, Utah area.
Finally, Intervenor BYU is a non-profit institution of higher education that is located in Provo, Utah. BYU is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("the Mormon Church") and some 99% of its students are of the Mormon faith. Despite the high percentage of Mormons who attend BYU, however, admission to BYU is not conditioned on either religion, race, sex, national origin, or disability.1
For over forty years, BYU has operated an off-campus housing program for its single students. As part of that program, all single BYU students between the ages of 18 and 25 are required, as a matter of admission, to either live on campus or in BYU-approved off-campus housing.2 Moreover, BYU contracts with private landlords — including the Defendant Landlords in this action — to provide approved off-campus housing to its students.3
In order to become certified to provide off-campus housing to BYU students, all private landlords must promise to abide by BYU's off-campus housing policy.4 Under that policy, the landlords must: (1) rent their BYU-approved facilities only to single BYU students, married students, or student families; (2) separate students from non-students by buildings or wings of buildings if the landlords decide to rent to both students and non-students; (3) rent only to single male or single female students or separate single male students from single female students by buildings or wings of buildings if the landlords decide to rent to both male and female BYU students; and (4) use the most recent version of the BYU-approved Student-Landlord Rental Agreement with all of their student renters.5
(1). The Defendants' Rental Practices.
All of the apartment complexes owned and/or managed by the Defendant Landlords in this case have been certified by BYU to provide BYU-approved off-campus student housing. Moreover, and in accordance with their agreement to abide by BYU's off-campus housing policy, the Defendant Landlords rent units within their apartment complexes as follows: (1) the Riviera, University Park, Manavu, Courtside, Belmont, Windfield, Berkshire, Miller, Banbridge Square, and Campus Plaza apartments rent apartment units only to BYU students; (2) the Riviera, Belmont, Miller, and Campus Plaza apartments rent apartment units to both single male and single female BYU students. The male and female students are then segregated from each other by buildings or wings of buildings;6 (3) the University Park, Manavu, and Windfield apartments rent apartment units only to single male BYU students or to married BYU students with or without children; (4) the Courtside, Berkshire, and Banbridge Square apartments rent apartment units only to single female BYU students or to married BYU students with or without children; and (5) the Glenwood, Raintree, and Branbury Park apartments rent apartment units to male BYU students, female BYU students, and to non-students. All single BYU students are then segregated from non-students by buildings or wings of buildings, with the single male BYU students further segregated from the single female BYU students by other buildings or wings of buildings.7
(2). The Defendants' Advertising Practices.
The apartment complexes owned and/or managed by the Defendant Landlords in this case also advertise their rental practices to both BYU students and to the general public. For example, the Manavu, Windfield, and University Park apartments all either now advertise or have in the past advertised that their apartment units are available to male BYU students only. Similarly, the Courtside, Berkshire, and Banbridge Square apartments all either now advertise or have in the past advertised that their apartment units are available to female BYU students only.8
(3). The Plaintiffs' Efforts to Rent from the Defendants.
From May through July, 1994, plaintiff Wilson applied to rent an apartment at the Riviera, Manavu, Courtside, Windfield, Berkshire, Miller, Banbridge Square, and Campus Plaza apartments. All eight of these apartment complexes refused to rent to Wilson because he was not a BYU student. Additionally, the Courtside, Berkshire, and Banbridge Square apartments also refused to rent to Wilson because he is male and they rent only to female BYU students.
During this same time period, plaintiff Walker applied to rent an apartment at the Manavu, Windfield, and University Park apartments. All three of these apartment complexes refused to rent to Walker because she is female and they rent only to male BYU students.
Finally, in July, 1994, plaintiff Wilson contacted the Riviera and Courtside apartments and told them he was a single parent wishing to rent an apartment unit at their complex. Wilson claims he was told by the managers of those apartments that neither the Riviera nor the Courtside apartments rent apartment units to individuals with children.9
In August of 1994, the Plaintiffs filed with the court their Third Amended Complaint ("complaint"). In substance, the Plaintiffs' complaint alleges five causes of action against the Defendant Landlords, all arising out of the Defendant Landlords' alleged violation of the ...
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...Colonial Village, Inc., 899 F.2d 24 (D.C.Cir.1990); United States v. Hunter, 459 F.2d 205 (4th Cir.1972); Wilson v. Glenwood Intermountain Properties, 876 F.Supp. 1231 (D.Utah 1995),vacated and remanded on other grounds, 98 F.3d 590 (10th Cir.1996); Blomgren v. Ogle, 850 F.Supp. 1427 (E.D.W......