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IRMO -- The welcome mat was ripped from under a United Cerebral Palsy home in Irmo.

The non-profit agency which provides healthcare services to adults with disabilities bought the residence in the Coldstream neighborhood in 2007.  A year later, the Coldstream Home Owners Association slapped the agency with a lawsuit.

“Every now and again, you have home owner associations or cities attempting to try and invite you to leave,” said executive director Diane Wilush of United Cerebral Palsy.

According to Wilush, the lawsuit was filed because the UCP was allegedly violating the home owners association’s regulations.  She says the group was under the notion that UCP was running a business by housing four men with special needs.

“In this particular home, the residents function and live together as a family unit,” said Wilush.

WACH FOX spoke with the former president of the Coldstream Home Owners Association and was told the lawsuit had been dropped.  We tried to reach their lawyer for further comment, but received no response.

Now UCP faces another dilemma, it owes $43,000 in legal fees.

fdsWith looming state and federal cuts coming to agencies like UCP, Wilush knows the legal battle was a hefty price to pay.  However, she says it was worth the money, because everyone has a right to live in whatever neighborhood they choose.