United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

No. 23-30829 FILED March 10, 2025 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce Clifford Osborne; Deborah Olsen, Clerk

Plaintiffs—Appellees,

versus Kevin Belton,

Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC No. 3:20-CV-208 ______________________________ Before Elrod, Chief Judge, and Oldham and Wilson, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: Plaintiffs–Appellees Clifford Osborne and Deborah Olsen sued their former landlord, Defendant–Appellant Kevin Belton, for disability discrimination and retaliation under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq., and the Louisiana Equal Housing Opportunity Act (LEHOA), La. Rev. Stat. § 51:2601 et seq. (2024). After the district court granted Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, Belton moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) for relief from the judgment, and the district court denied the motion. Belton then moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e) for reconsideration of the denial of his Rule 60(b) motion, Case: 23-30829 Document: 70-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/10/2025

No. 23-30829

and the district court denied that motion as well. Belton appealed to this court. Because Belton has not shown that the district court abused its discretion in denying his Rule 60(b) motion, we AFFIRM. I A Osborne and Olsen leased a single-family home owned by Belton in 2018. At first, according to Osborne, Belton allowed them to keep a dog at the property temporarily, as an exception to the lease’s no-pets policy. Soon after, though, Belton told Osborne that the dog was no longer allowed on the property and that they could only keep it in a neighboring yard. He also informed them that he would commence eviction proceedings if the dog remained on the property. The dispute escalated to the point where, on one occasion, Belton took the dog from the property’s yard, drove it to a neighboring town, and abandoned it there. In September 2018, Osborne’s physician, Dr. Dirk Rainwater, provided Osborne with a letter stating his “professional opinion that [Osborne] would benefit from a service dog due to being mentally challenged” and, as a result, suffering from anxiety and depression. Osborne repeatedly attempted to give Belton the letter, but Belton refused to accept it. Shortly thereafter, Belton filed a petition of eviction against Osborne and Olsen in a Louisiana justice of the peace court. The court granted the petition in October 2018, and Osborne and Olsen were evicted. B In early 2020, Osborne and Olsen sued Belton in federal district court for disability discrimination under both the FHA and its Louisiana

2 Case: 23-30829 Document: 70-1 Page: 3 Date Filed: 03/10/2025

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equivalent, the LEHOA. After more than two years of litigation, Osborne and Olsen moved for summary judgment on all claims. Belton did not file an opposing b