Video Gallery

Fair Housing Act

• Seven Days Documentary – 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act

  The Seven Days documentary by the National Fair Housing Alliance explores the historic passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act following the tragic assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., highlighting its legacy and current housing equity challenges.

Fair Housing Act – Disability Discrimination

• Fair Housing Act: Live-In Aide Denial and Disability Accommodation Failure

  A NBC6 Orlando story about how disability accommodations are critical to personal safety, the denial of a first-floor apartment and a live-in aide by housing authorities ultimately led to the preventable death of Samuel Rosario. Learn more about the legal fight for housing rights and accountability in the blog article: Litigation: When the denial of a reasonable accommodation leads to tragedy.

• Help me Howard: Can an Association Evict a Caretaker?

  When a South Florida mobile home community threatened to evict a disabled resident’s granddaughter for helping care for her family,WSVN Help Me Howard and disability rights attorney Matthew Dietz stepped in. Watch how Dietz and his law students used the Fair Housing Act to stop the eviction and keep a family together.

  Fair Housing Act Explained: Are Condos Required to Provide Accessible Transit?

  When a South Florida retirement community purchased a new courtesy bus without a wheelchair lift, resident Lou Schleicher was left behind—forced to navigate busy highway traffic in his electric wheelchair just to buy groceries. In this investigative report by WPLG Local 10 reporter Jeff Weinsier, attorney Matthew Dietz breaks down why denying accessible transit to disabled residents violates federal and state Fair Housing laws, and how they are taking the fight to state investigators.
• Are Marinas Required to Install Wheelchair Ramps?

  When a World War II veteran asked his marina for permission to build a wheelchair ramp to access his houseboat, the owner refused and served him an eviction notice instead. In this investigative report by WPLG Problem Solver Kelly Butler, attorney Matthew Dietz explains how the Fair Housing Act protects residents’ rights to reasonable modifications—and why firing back with an eviction notice violates federal law.

• 
  
  

  
  Condo Won’t Accommodate Renovation of Elevator for Resident in Wheelchair
  

  When a condominium association planned to shut down its building’s only elevator for months-long renovations, a wheelchair-bound resident faced losing complete access to his home. In this Help Me Howard report on WSVN 7 News, disability rights attorney Matthew Dietz steps in to explain how the Fair Housing Act requires associations to provide reasonable accommodations to keep disabled residents from being trapped or displaced.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing

• Playlist – Fair Housing Rights Video Series in English and ASL

  Funded by a Department of Housing and Urban Development grant, this twelve-part educational video series produced by the National Fair Housing Alliance and the Disability Independence Group explains critical Fair Housing rights, available in both English and American Sign Language to ensure broad accessibility.

Fair Housing Act – Assistance Animal Discrimination

• • The Cost of Denying Accommodations: The Ray Bishop Story

    Trigger Warning: Suicide and gunfire.

    In this moving WPLG Local 10 investigative report by Amy Viteri, a housing provider’s relentless threats to evict Ray Bishop over his emotional support dogs, Ranger and Roxie, triggered a severe mental health crisis that ended in a tragic police-involved shooting. Featuring insights from civil rights attorney Matthew Dietz, this segment underscores the severe human toll when housing providers refuse to grant reasonable assistance animal accommodations. Read the full commentary in our blog article: When Losing Your Emotional Support Animal is Too Much to Bear.

  • A Six-Year-Old’s Fight to Have His Seizure Service Dog in School

    When a Broward County elementary school barred six-year-old Anthony Merchante from bringing his seizure service dog, Stevie, to class without paying for an additional handler, his mother filed a federal lawsuit under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504. Civil rights attorney Matthew Dietz successfully defended Anthony’s right to full inclusion and equal access in school. Read the full commentary in our blog articles: A Six-Year-Old’s Fight to Have His Seizure Dog at School and Litigation Update: Anthony Gets to Keep Stevie in School.

  • Uber Driver Denied My Service Dog

    In this investigative report, a blind and deaf woman shares her experience after an Uber driver allegedly refused her service dog. The segment highlights ongoing legal advocacy and the strict public accommodation protections guaranteed under disability rights laws.

  Fair Housing Act – Familial Status Discrimination

   

  • Can an Apartment Ban Brothers from Sharing a Bedroom? | Fair Housing & Familial Status

    When a subsidized apartment complex turned away single mothers by claiming children are legally prohibited from sharing a bedroom, WPLG Local 10 Problem Solver Jeff Weinsier investigated. Watch attorney Matthew Dietz expose the complex’s illegal policy and take the fight to federal court to stop familial status discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.

  • Fair Housing Act: Familial Status Discrimination at Wynkin, Blynkin & Nod Mobile Home Park

    When a Hialeah mobile home park denied residency to a 9-year-old boy because of a single bad conduct grade on his report card, WPLG Local 10 Problem Solver Jeff Weinsier stepped in to investigate. Featuring insights from HOPE, Inc. President Keenya Robertson and attorney Matthew Dietz, see how civil rights advocates exposed this illegal familial status discrimination—forcing management to reverse their decision and keep the family housed.

  Fair Housing Act – Pregnancy and Sex Discrimination

   

  • • • Bizarre Rules or Civil Rights Violations?

        When an affordable housing complex attempted to evict an expecting mother after demanding a doctor’s letter and an ultrasound photo of her womb, WPLG Local 10 Problem Solver Jeff Weinsier stepped in to investigate. Featuring commentary from HOPE, Inc. President Keenya Robertson and civil rights attorney Matthew Dietz, see how advocates took the property to federal court to challenge intrusive, illegal policies that violate pregnancy and sex discrimination protections under the Fair Housing Act.

      • City of Tampa Sues Landlord for Race and Sex Discrimination

        When a landlord launched a campaign of harassment against a female tenant—going so far as to make false police reports to strip her of custody of her children—the City of Tampa took the rare step of filing a federal housing discrimination lawsuit. Featuring commentary from civil rights attorney Matthew Dietz, see how local authorities and fair housing laws act to protect tenants against severe harassment and illegal retaliation. Read the full legal analysis in our blog article: City of Tampa Files Race and Gender Discrimination in Housing Case.

    Americans with Disabilities Act

    • • • • Woman Says Disabled Placard Not Enough for ADA Parking

            A woman contacted NBC 6 Responds after attempting to park in an ADA parking space at Hard Rock Stadium. The report examines stadium parking policies for people with disabilities and includes comments from Matthew Dietz regarding accessible parking requirements.

       

      Care of Medically Fragile Children

       

      • Florida’s Medically Fragile Children Deserve to Grow Up at Home

        For years, civil rights attorney Matthew Dietz fought on the front lines to protect medically complex children from being unnecessarily institutionalized in adult nursing homes. In the landmark federal class action lawsuit A.R. v. Dudek, Dietz and his co-counsel sued the State of Florida under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Medicaid Act, securing a pivotal ruling that established children’s rights to receive medically necessary in-home nursing care and grow up safely alongside their families. Read the full article: Institutionalization of Medically Complex Children.

      • Medically Fragile Children

        Legal battles and advocacy ensuring medically fragile children have the right to grow up safely at home rather than in institutions.

      Civil Rights and Disability Rights

      30 Years of the ADA: A Civil Rights Reflection with Ben Crump, Esq.

      Marking the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump joins attorney Matthew Dietz for a powerful reflection on the intersection of disability rights and social justice. Together, they examine the legacy of the landmark 1990 law, highlighting why equal access, inclusion, and civil rights protections remain a vital, ongoing movement for all Americans.

      • • •