In Saunders v Counts, an unpublished Michigan Court of Appeals decision, several homeowners in a subdivision filed suit against the owner of a home and her corporation which was operating a licensed adult foster care facility consisting of six elderly residents with disabilities. The plaintiffs alleged that the operation of the facility violated a restrictive covenant forbidding the operation of a business enterprise. The trial court granted judgment in favor of the defendants.
In a decision surveying prior cases regarding adult foster care facilities and family day care homes and the public policy regarding adult foster care homes as expressed in legislation, the court of appeals affirmed. While the court held out the possibility that an adult foster care facility might be barred by an appropriate covenant, the court found that this operation did not.
In this author’s opinion, any challenge to an adult foster care facility in either a subdivision or a condominium is likely to be rejected on public policy grounds.