A final investigative report issued by the division in June says Richmond's actions were discriminatory because, "despite knowing of Carolyn's disability and ... reasonable requests that the home be modified to accommodate her needs," the builder was, "at best, negligent in how it built certain components of the home."

Still, division director Heather Morrison says she doesn't think the company deliberately singled the Ugolinis out in not following their requests.

"Builders seldom get it 100 percent right all of the time," Morrison said. "I think a lot of it is you have builders who are pressed for time and maybe aren't as careful as they should be and mess up. I guess it's conceivable that builders are deliberately discriminatory, but I kind of doubt that happens frequently."

The division has ordered Richmond to pay the Ugolinis $10,500 for emotional distress and attorney's fees and a $500 penalty for its negligence, but the Ugolinis say it's not enough. More has to change for disabled people to be treated fairly in society, Carolyn Ugolini says.

"For me, it would be much easier to walk away," she says. "But why shouldn't I stand up for my rights? Why should I let them walk over me — because then they'll walk over someone else, too. If we see something wrong in our society, we have to stand up."

The Ugolinis could contact a homebuilder who specializes in building homes for elderly people to create an ADA-approved house, but companies who specialize specifically in ADA-compliance are hard to come by, says Curt Dowdle, Salt Lake Homebuilder's Association executive officer.

"I don't know anybody that makes an effort to focus on that demographic," Dowdle said. "We as an industry are getting so demographically sensitive, we have very small, select groups of people that we target."

Legislation that promotes ADA standards in single family homes — not just multiple housing units as in the Fair Housing Act — would be a helpful step, said Barbara Toomer, vice chairman of the Disabled Rights Action Committee, but that's unlikely to happen any time soon. Until legislative changes are made, court — which is just where the Ugolinis are headed — is the best place to resolve the issue and instigate change, Toomer said.

"I don't know what else can be done," Toomer said. "I agree, it's a problem, I definitely do, and I don't know how to cure it."

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E-mail: achoate@desnews.com