Middletown couple didn't discriminate against home for people with autism, settlement says

Asbury Park Press - 7/17/2020

MIDDLETOWN - The operator of a nonprofit home for adults with autism has withdrawn harassment allegations against neighbors who, in turn, agreed to drop their challenge of a precedent-setting court decision expanding who can file discrimination lawsuits.

Oasis Therapeutic Life Centers, Inc. and neighbors Peter and Susan Wade issued a joint statement Thursday announcing settlement of a discrimination lawsuit brought in 2017 by the nonprofit agency against its neighbors along Navesink River Road, an affluent neighborhood that has been home to such luminaries as Gov. Phil Murphy and rocker Jon Bon Jovi.

Oasis sued the Wades, as well as Navesink Investments LLC and Robert and Loren Phillips, alleging the neighbors tried to block the agency from purchasing a farm on Navesink River Road on which to operate a transitional home. The lawsuit alleged that when the effort failed and the land sale went through in 2015, the neighbors embarked on a pattern of harassment that included placing menacing graffiti and horse manure on the grounds.

Oasis withdrew those allegations against the Wades in Thursday's joint statement. Confidential settlements previously were reached with the other defendants, said Oasis' attorney, Steven Holinstat of the New York law firm Proskauer Rose.

"Oasis has agreed to withdraw its complaint against only the Wades -- not any other defendants -- and the Wades have agreed to withdraw their recently granted petition for certification to the New Jersey Supreme Court of the Appellate Division's ruling,'' the statement said.

The statement refers to a December 2018 decision by Judges Clarkson S. Fisher, Richard J. Geiger and Lisa A. Firko of the Appellate Division of Superior Court reinstating Oasis' lawsuit against its neighbors after state Superior Court Judge Dennis R. O'Brien dismissed it.

O'Brien, who sits in Monmouth County, said the charitable organization failed to set forth a valid claim under the state's Law Against Discrimination because the agency was not in a class protected by the law.

The appellate judges, in a published decision to be followed in future cases, said that while Oasis is not in a class protected by the Law Against Discrimination it can seek damages under the law because it provides benefits to people who are in a protected class.

The Wades asked the state Supreme Court to hear an appeal of that decision, and the high court agreed to do so. However, while the appeal was still pending, the Wades agreed to withdraw it.

"Oasis believes that the final resolution of this lawsuit, including its historic victory in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, is a victory not only for Oasis, but also for the autistic community as a whole,'' Holinstat said in the joint statement. "By finally resolving this matter, Oasis can now focus full-time on its mission of helping young adults with autism thrive in the community.''

The joint statement said no individuals with autism lived at the Oasis property at the time the allegations were made against the Wades.

The statement specifically addressed the following allegations against the Wades in Oasis' lawsuit:

The Wades went door-to-door collecting signatures on a petition to help derail a $600,000 grant to Oasis from the Monmouth Conservation Foundation to help with the $2.2 million purchase price of the farm. The joint statement issued by Oasis and the Wades said the Wades' objections to Oasis' acquisition of the property and to the grant "were not motivated by any discriminatory animus against the autistic community.'' Oasis residents in November 2015 found "enormous, garish and frightening graffiti'' depicting snakes and fire in the driveway. The joint statement said the "graffiti'' was a Miami Heat logo painted on the Wades' property and ''was not motivated by any discriminatory animus against the autistic community.'' The Wades dumped hundreds of pounds of horse manure on Oasis' property. The joint statement said "the Wades' placement of manure was in the same location they have used for the past 25 years,'' and the Wades were not motivated by any "discriminatory animus against the autistic community.'' The spot where the manure was left was on a corner of both the Wades' and Oasis' property, but 600 feet from the Oasis residence. The Wades erected a fence with no gate that blocked Oasis' access to a shared driveway providing the only access to Oasis' property that is wide and flat enough to allow entry of emergency vehicles. The joint statement said the Wades erection of the fence was legal, did not block access to emergency vehicles and was not meant to discriminate against the autistic community. The Wades made a sham offer to the property seller and also offered the seller $250,000 to breach his contract with Oasis. The joint statement said The Wades' offer to purchase the property was not a sham and that the Wades never offered the seller any money to breach the contract.

"Mr. and Mrs. Wade are pleased Oasis TLC (Therapeutic Learning Center) has withdrawn all allegations against them,'' said the couple's attorney, Leo J. Hurley Jr. of the Jersey City law firm Connell Foley.

"In the face of humiliating press coverage, social media threats, and the required financial commitment, the Wades chose to stand on principle and endure the emotional stress to defend their reputations, Hurley said. "Despite the conflict, Peter and Susan continue to believe Oasis offers an invaluable service to autistic individuals.''

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Oasis, which stands for Ongoing Autistic Success in Society, was founded by Joan Mai Cleary, a nurse and mother of a child with autism, and her husband, John Cleary. According to court papers, they founded the nonprofit agency to create residential learning centers to smooth the transition from childhood to young adulthood for people with autism. In addition to its facility on Navesink River Road, Oasis also operates a transitional home on a 26-acre estate off Sleepy Hollow Road in Middletown.

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues, unsolved mysteries and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Middletown couple didn't discriminate against home for people with autism, settlement says

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