Share
LOS ANGELES — A jury awarded more than $5.5 million to 31 residents of a Southern California mobile home park rife with problems, including sinkholes, sewage backups and rats.
Jurors also found the owners of Friendly Village liable for elder abuse, lawyers for the plaintiffs said Monday. The amount of punitive damages in that phase of the civil trial will be argued in court next week.
The residents, many of them elderly, sued the owners for failing to fix units at the property that was once a trash dump for the city of Long Beach, lead attorney Brian Kabateck said.
“This company allowed the residents to live in squalor with raw sewage backing up into their homes while they raised rents and collected millions upon millions of dollars in profits,” Kabateck said in a statement.
The Land Is Constantly Shifting
The land is constantly shifting, causing electrical problems and structural damage to units, the lawsuit said.
A woman who answered the phone at Friendly Village on Monday said she couldn’t comment on the suit.
During the nearly two-month trial, plaintiffs testified about how, instead of fixing the ongoing problems, the park owners ignored their complaints and continued to increase rents.
The owners, Friendly Village MHP Associates, declared bankruptcy during the court proceedings, according to plaintiffs’ attorneys.
RELATED TOPICS:
Trump’s Potential VP Pick Boasts About Executing Puppy
1 day ago
Trita Parsi: Blind Support for Israel Erodes Western Democracies
1 day ago
Fresno Trash Hauler’s Response to Overpayments: We Followed the City’s Rules
1 day ago
Which Six QBs Were Selected in the Top 12 of the NFL Draft?
1 day ago
Nuggets Close to Sweeping Lakers After Game 3 Win
1 day ago
Jose Ramirez: ‘I Want to Make a Statement and Put on a Show’
1 day ago
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 6 Shutout Innings Help Dodgers Finish Sweep, Defeat Nats 2-1
1 day ago
The 49ers Add Florida Receiver Ricky Pearsall With the 30th Draft Pick
1 day ago
Political Stunt, Egg on His Face, Personal Vendetta. Who’s Fresno DA Talking About?
1 day ago
California Legislation Wants to Uncover the ‘Hidden Homicides’ of Domestic Violence