A New Hampshire-based company has filed a lawsuit against a Florida condominium association and two of its board members, alleging discriminatory practices that interfered with the sale of its property. JAR Holding Company LLC lodged the complaint in the Circuit Court for Palm Beach County on April 3, 2025, targeting Lake Harbour Towers North Condo Association Inc., along with board members Donna Hernandez and Gary Rippberger.
The lawsuit stems from two separate incidents where potential buyers were allegedly discouraged from purchasing JAR's condominium unit due to their use of service dogs. According to the complaint, both incidents involved confrontations initiated by Hernandez and Rippberger during final walk-throughs with prospective buyers who had service animals. The first incident occurred on March 29, 2023, when Karen Colwell made an offer of $415,000 for the unit. During her final inspection accompanied by her service dog, Hernandez and Rippberger reportedly entered without invitation and expressed their disapproval of dogs in the building despite acknowledging they could not legally prohibit them. Feeling unwelcome due to this interaction, Colwell decided against completing the purchase.
Similarly, on August 9, 2023, another potential buyer named Suzanne Wittman faced a comparable situation. She too was confronted by Hernandez and Rippberger about her service dog during a walk-through. As a result of these encounters and fearing discrimination from the board members, Wittman also withdrew her offer to buy the property at $415,000.
JAR Holding claims these actions constituted tortious interference with contractual relations as both sales fell through due to the defendants' alleged misconduct. The company argues that such behavior violates Florida Statute §413.08 which protects individuals with disabilities from being denied accommodations based on their need for service animals.
As compensation for damages incurred by losing higher-value sales offers compared to what they eventually sold the unit for ($350,000), JAR is seeking over $50,000 plus legal costs and attorney fees from each defendant. The plaintiff asserts that these confrontations directly led to financial losses exceeding $50,000 given that subsequent offers were significantly lower than those initially received.
Representing JAR Holding Company LLC is attorney Thomas F. Ryan P.A., while Joseph Abruzzo serves as Clerk for Palm Beach County where this case is filed under Case ID: 502025CA003161XXXAMB.