The country's largest advocacy group for the elderly announced Tuesday it had filed a "friend of the court" brief for a case on appeal before the North Dakota Supreme Court in support of a Fargo man suing the company that owns his apartment to retrofit the property to accommodate his wheelchair.

The North Dakota Department of Labor filed the lawsuit against Matrix Properties Corp. on behalf of Evert Johnson, saying company was not complying with the Fair Housing Amendments Act, according to an AARP press statement.

Johnson could not get through doorways because of his wheelchair, but Matrix Properties argued Johnson waited too long to bring up the problem.

"We're supporting this because our belief is people, regardless of their abilities, should be able to live anywhere," said Linda Wurtz, a spokeswoman for AARP North Dakota.

- Brian Duggan