WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida family is suing a condominium association over a rule that bans children from using the community pool while wearing swim diapers. The defendants believe the lawsuit does not hold water.
A lawsuit filed in West Palm Beach by grandparents Jack and Simone Yeager, their son, David Yeager, and their daughter-in-law Nicole Fisher alleges discrimination by the Hunters Run Property Owners Association of Boynton Beach, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Jack and Simone Yeager own a home in Hunters Run Country Club, the newspaper reported.
Diaper donnybrook: Family sues condo board, claim swim diaper ban violates baby’s civil rights https://t.co/voCMi6kBXt pic.twitter.com/MwcG1uJDQ2
— South Florida Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) January 5, 2022
The David Yeager et al. v. Hunters Run Property Owners Association, was filed in the county court of the 15th Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County on Dec. 1. David Yeager and Fisher were visiting on Dec. 13, 2018, when they brought their then 19-month-old daughter to the main clubhouse swimming pool at Hunters Run.
The child was wearing swim diapers, a snug-fitting alternative to disposable or cloth diapers, according to the Sun-Sentinel. The girl, who was supervised by her parents, put her feet into the pool, court records state.
According to the plaintiffs, a Hunters Run employee approached the child’s parents and demanded that she be removed from the pool, telling David Yeager and Fisher that children in swim diapers were restricted to the “kiddie pool.”
It was not the first time a Hunters Run employee had asked adults to remove their young child from the main pool, Jack Gorny, the president of Hunters Run, confirmed in court documents.
The lawsuit claims that Hunters Run violated anti-discrimination ordinances in Palm Beach County and the federal Fair Housing Act, which bars discrimination against families with children under 18, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
“Hunters Run’s rules pertaining to the clubhouse pool have a disparate and unreasonable impact on children,” the lawsuit claims.
“The rule prohibiting children in swim diapers from using the clubhouse pool is unreasonable,” the lawsuit states.
The suit further states that the rule was “not motivated by legitimate concerns for health and safety reasons.”
The lawsuit seeks monetary damages, attorneys costs, a finding that a discriminatory practice occurred, and an order barring Hunters Run from enforcing the ban in the future.
A complaint was filed with the Palm Beach County Office of Equal Opportunity. Pamela Guerrier, director of the office, told the Sun-Sentinel she could not discuss pending litigation.
The Yeagers’ attorney also declined to discuss the case, and Hunters Run’s general manager of Hunters Run did not return a telephone call to his office on Tuesday, the newspaper reported.
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