Dec. 8—PRINCETON — One attorney said that mobile home park residents who are seeing their lot rents increase are victims of "vulture capitalism" and an attorney representing the new owners of five parks said problems at the parks are being addressed and that rents have not been increased in many years.

After hearing hours of testimony and legal arguments Wednesday, a circuit court judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order keeping mobile home parks where lot rents are doubling from getting permits and keeping them from collecting rent or requiring them to freeze rents.

Attorneys for Mountain State Justice, Inc. and LLC companies owning five mobile home parks in Mercer County appeared for Circuit Court Judge Derek Swope. Mountain State, a nonprofit law firm, asked the court to order a temporary restraining order that would keep the Mercer County Health Department from issuing permits to the mobile home parks.

In a class action lawsuit filed by Mountain State Justice, the plaintiffs stated that two companies, Smith Management LLC and Homes of America LLC, have purchased five mobile home parks — Gardner Estates, Elk View, Country Roads, Delaney and Shadow Wood — and have in a effort to profit from their investment, "have unilaterally raised the lot rent in these manufactured housing communities to as much as double the previous lot rent."

One person attending Wednesday's hearing, Lynette Blevins of Mercer County, said her son and two granddaughters, who live at Gardner Estates, are seeing their lot rent increase from $250 to $495 a month. She said the family was in the process of moving their home, and that this was costing more than $4,500. She said the situation is especially difficult because Christmas is approaching.

"They couldn't have chosen a worse time for this," Blevins said. "And there was very little notice to try and get somebody who can move you, find a vacant place and just try to maintain a normal life. My 13-year-old granddaughter asked if they are going to be able to put up their Christmas tree in their home and have Christmas. and he (son) works. Contrary to what people believe, these are hardworking people and it's a shame what's being done to them."

One plaintiff in the lawsuit, Rachel Ann Duncan of Gardner Estates, testified that she works a minimum-wage job at Princeton restaurant. She stated that she has lived there for two years with her 6-year-old grandson. Duncan, said pays a total of $600 a month in two $300 installments; her previous landlord allowed her to pay this way.

Duncan testified that the park has had problems with sewage and standing water, and had contacted the Mercer County Health Department "a couple of times" about them. Last year, a sewage box at the park was cleaned out, but the "people who did the work left a mess." While Duncan was speaking with Mountain State attorney Adam Wolfe, the court was shown photos and videos of water and sewage problems at the park.

Attorney Sandra Kinney, who represented the parks' owners, asked Duncan if she was behind about $1,000 on home and lot rent.

"No mam, I do not owe that," Duncan replied.

Another plaintiff, Michael Shane Todd of Elk View Mobile Home Park, testified that the park has drainage problems, and that he has not been provided with a rent lease. He also said part of his home appeared to be sinking, and he could not use his front door due to this problem.

Kinney asked Todd if he had made any complaints to Xenia Cunningham, who manages the mobile home parks, or notified her about any other problems. Todd replied that he did not recall making any complaints or notifying her.

Cunningham, who works for Homes of America LLC, testified while being questioned by Kinney that the company had approved estimates to address drainage problems, and estimates for addressing sewage problems had been approved, too, and scheduled.

Kinney asked Cunningham if she had sent Duncan an eviction notice because she learned about a complaint to the health department. Cunningham stated that she did not.

Prosecuting Attorney Brian Cochran represented the Mercer County Health Department. The department's administrator, Bonnie Allen, was named in the lawsuit. Wolfe said before Wednesday's hearing that damages were not being sought, but administrator was included to keep the department from issuing permits to the mobile home parks.

Lead Sanitarian Michael Bragg with the health department testified that he has inspected the mobile home parks except for Country Roads and Delaney since they changed ownership. He said that in October he checked and saw that Homes of America did not have permits for the parks it had purchase, then contacted the company and was able to get it started on the permitting process. By law, mobile home parks are inspected once a year unless a complaint is filed, he said.

Swope asked Mountain State Justice attorney Bren Pomponio if a temporary restraining order would ever "taint" the owners' ability to get permits for the mobile home parks, and Pomponio replied, "No, your honor," adding that the plaintiffs did not want to bar the owners from getting permits. They wanted help with problems at the parks and the increasing lot rents.

"These residents are the victims of vulture capitalism," Pomponio told the court, adding that new management "swooped in and picks the bones."

"They just hike up the rent and allow the known problems within these communities to continue," he stated.

Kinney argued that the parks' problems were being addressed, and that lot rents "have not been raised in many, many years."

After hearing both sides' arguments, Swope said he was not going to give the temporary injunction. He also said he could not freeze lot rents or order the company not to raise them.

"I think it would be better to tell your clients to hold off on rent until corrective action is taken," Swope said. "I'm not going to order them to do so, but tell them they should do it."

Swope said it was in the public's interest to clean up the parks and "make them right." He ordered that the health department perform "complete and through" inspections at all five parks "between now and the end of the year." He also wanted the plaintiffs and the company to have representatives at the inspections, but they could not interfere. After the inspections are finished, a corrective action plan was to be created.

"And I want everybody to work on that together," he told the attorneys.

Swope also stated that he planned to contact the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals about appointing a special master to help resolve the case.

"I propose to hire a senior person who understands this stuff," he said. "Whose job would be to meet with all parties and see what we can do to fix this. This way we can come up with ways to fix this stuff and everybody will be happy. You'll have a clean, safe place to live and you'll get your rent."

Swope said the issue about the increasing rents would need to addressed by the Legislature.

"That's where you need to go," he told the plaintiffs. "I can't change the law. They can."

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com