County Prevails in Defamation Lawsuit Brought by Park Owner MHC

Jacob and county win again in mobile-home-parks suit
By Greg Moran, San Diego Union-Tribune

FEDERAL COURT — A federal judge has again ruled in favor of the county and Supervisor Dianne Jacob in a defamation lawsuit brought by the owners of mobile-home parks in East County.

Judge Napoleon Jones ruled that three statements Jacob made in 2002 and 2003 about mobile-home parks owned by MHC Inc. were protected under the state's anti-SLAPP law. That law is aimed at protecting people who speak out from meritless lawsuits aimed at chilling free speech.

MHC, now known as Equity Lifestyle Property, is one of the nation's largest operators of mobile-home parks. Its chairman is Sam Zell, a billionaire who is the head of media conglomerate Tribune Co., which filed for bankruptcy protection this year.

The ruling largely reiterates an earlier ruling by Jones that seemed to end the lawsuit. However, Zell appealed, and last March a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived a portion of the lawsuit that focused on three statements Jacob made.

The supervisor said yesterday that the ruling vindicated her statements.

“Most importantly this is a victory for the residents of the Zell-owned mobile-home parks,” she said. “I'm personally grateful for the court for protecting my free speech rights. For the second time.”

A lawyer for MHC did not respond to a phone message left yesterday afternoon.

The company sued the county and Jacob in 2003, after the supervisor blasted MHC on air and in print over plans to increase rents at three mobile-home parks – Rancho Mesa and Rancho Valley outside El Cajon, and Lamplighter Village in Spring Valley.

In 2005, Jones threw out most of the suit, ruling that Jacob's statements were protected. But last year the appeals panel, while upholding most of that ruling, sent the case back to Jones for hearings on whether three statements Jacob made were false.

Those statements were that the company lied about fixing a sewage problem, had a reputation for driving out elderly tenants by increasing rents, and that prosecutors might investigate MHC.

In order to win, MHC had to convince Jones that there was a probability it would win its defamation claims at trial. But the judge said the company did not have enough evidence to show it would win.

On the sewage issue, he said the evidence showed that while the company had tried to fix the problem, it was still not fixed when Jacob made her statement.

He also said the company “has not provided any evidence to indicate that it does not have a reputation for raising rents and forcing out residents.” And he also said that there was evidence that Jacob had spoken to incoming District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis about the situation and Dumanis had said she might be interested in looking into the MHC situation.

“Everything I said was true,” Jacob said yesterday.

The county will now try to recoup costs for defending the suit, said Senior Deputy County Counsel William Johnson. MHC and Zell could also appeal this ruling again, however, but Johnson said he hopes they will not.

“Hopefully they are going to let this one ride,” he said. “We've now prevailed on everything.”

***

Note: MHC, now operating as Equity Lifestyle Properties, also owns Meadowbrook MHP in Santee.

HOA Meeting: Tuesday 3/10, 7:00 p.m.

Join us on Tuesday, March10 at 7:00 at the Clubhouse. Agenda includes:

• Manager’s Update
• Park Conditions, status of management’s responses
• Community Garage Sale
• New Business

HOA Meeting: Tuesday 2/10, 7:00 p.m.

Join us on Tuesday, February 10 at 7:00 at the Clubhouse. Agenda includes:

• Manager’s Update
• Park Conditions, status of management’s responses
• New Business

Code of Ethics for Mobilehome Advocates

Reprinted with permission from the Coalition of Mobilehome Owners – California

CoMO-CAL feels that all advocates should adopt a “Code of Ethics.” We, along with the state group in Wisconsin, have written a preliminary “Code.” Today, CoMO-CAL lives by this code.
We would hope other groups do so as well.

Unfortunately this is not always the case. What do you think? If you think all advocates should adopt this code or something similar, please be active in your group of choice. Make your voice heard. Don’t just accept the status quo. After all, advocates are supposed to be working for you!

We, as advocates, agree to:

• Focus on serving our membership and promoting their general welfare
• Provide prospective members a list of our services and the benefits of joining
• Be honest with our members
• Be transparent, i.e. freely share information about our organization: assets and finances
• Be open to member’s suggestions, comments, and criticism
• Respond to members, either verbally or in writing
• Run our organization according to our bylaws and purpose
• When asked a question, we agree to give members all information available to us, i.e. what we can do to help them as well as other advocacy groups (if we know) by a member

We will not:

• Cause harm to those we serve, i.e. homeowners
• Withhold information from our members to promote only ourselves, i.e. homeowners need to know about all advocates who serve them.
• “Stonewall” members or refuse to listen to members in an open discussion

Additionally, we feel advocates should network with each other. This means freely sharing information while giving proper credit for information from other advocates. We realize we have similar issues and it is imperative to work together to provide a united front, even though we are different organizations.

For more information about CoMO-CAL, please visit www.comocal.org.

HOA Meeting Highlights: November 11, 2008

Manager’s Update:

• Residents again asked about Visitor Parking, and how it is often occupied by vehicles belonging to other residents, so guests have difficulty finding a place to park. Residents were instructed to provide specific details of the vehicles in question in writing on a Complaint/Concern Memo and submitted to the office, with a copy to the HOA.
• With the current water shortage and new water restrictions in the City of San Diego, a resident asked about enforcing the rule that driveways should not be hosed off. It was pointed out that some residents are hosing off their driveways and, in addition, are leaving the debris in the street, so that it blows into other residents’ driveways. Management will be sending a park-wide letter reminding residents to conserve water and observe the park rules and basic courtesy.
• The issue of street parking was also raised. Several residents expressed that this is a growing problem. This issue will also be raised in the park-wide letter referenced above.
• Management was asked about the possibility of having recycling containers in the park. Waste Management charges extra for those containers, and there was also a question of where to put the bins. At this point, any recycling we do must be on our own.
• Construction of a retaining wall on the corner near the fire hydrant is planned; no start date has been set. The street is still dug up, with yellow tape around it. Management will not be filling it in due to the imminent construction of the wall in that same location.
• Management is planning another Holiday Dinner; notices will go out the week of Thanksgiving.

Old Business:

“Meet and Consult” Letter to Management – Residents are still concerned about the large trench near the fire hydrant; there are small muddy handprints on the adjacent wall and it appears that children are crossing the yellow tape and playing in that area.

New Business:

Membership Drive – Membership dues are due in January. The Treasurer will circulate a flyer to all residents soliciting them to join, or renew, their membership. Along with that notice, she will circulate a survey to ascertain residents’ interest in various activities and/or services the HOA may offer.

December meeting – Due to everyone’s busy schedules during the holidays, it was decided that the HOA will not meet in December, and will reconvene at our regularly scheduled date and time in January.

HOA Meeting Highlights: October 14, 2008

Manager’s Update:

• On Friday, October 17, water will be out from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., while crews cap off the old fire hydrant. The new hydrant is already live.
• Residents asked about the RV storage lot and covering the fence with green mesh as previously promised. Carlos reported that he was looking into where to find the right material, and that he would ask the manager of the park next door, which recently installed this mesh.
• A resident reported that the door to the laundry room near the storage yard was left wide open, and noted that the laundry room has a large window to the RV storage area. Residents asked about putting bars on the window to prevent access. Residents should close and lock the door behind them after using the laundry facilities.
• Carlos reported that he is working with Barbara Wallace, Crime Prevention Specialist with the Santee Sheriff’s Department. Residents are urged to report any suspicious activity. For emergencies, call 911; otherwise, call the non-emergency number. If residents hear no response from the Sheriff in 2 days, call Carlos and he will work with Barbara Wallace to ensure the report is followed up.

Guest Speaker:

Jim Montague, candidate for Santee City Council was present and discussed his candidacy. Jim is a mobilehome resident, active in the current litigation involving Santee’s Manufactured Home Fair Practices Ordinance. Jim reported that there is a hearing on the most recent case involving Meadowbrook residents and the park owner on November 17 in Judge Sturgeon’s courtroom in El Cajon.

Old Business:

“Meet and Consult” Letter to Management – No written response has yet been received to our letter of June 18, 2008. A follow-up letter was drafted after the last meeting, addressing current questions, including the large hole near the fire hydrant. This letter was tabled in light of the manager’s report about the work scheduled to be performed on October 17.

New Business:

Residents raised questions about the possibility of making contributions from the HOA to an injured park resident . HOA Bylaws and the proper role of the HOA in terms of ensuring the welfare of park residents were discussed, in addition to California Revenue & Taxation Code section 23701t, the section under which the HOA has obtained its tax exemption, which states, “No part of the net earnings inures … to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.” It was agreed that private donations should be made, or an effort should be coordinated by residents, outside of the HOA, for this purpose.

HOA Meeting: Tuesday 10/14, 7:00 p.m.

Join us on Tuesday, October 14 at 7:00 at the Clubhouse. Agenda includes:

• Manager’s Update
• Status of “Meet and Consult” Letter to Management, status of management’s responses
• New Business