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Residents sue over sale of mobile home park

Eighty-six Golden Lantern homeowners at ask a judge to intervene.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published January 28, 2007

Eighty-six Golden Lantern Mobile Home Park homeowners filed a lawsuit Friday asking a judge to overturn the sale of their park and stop them from being evicted.

The homeowners also want the right to try to buy the park should the sale be nullified.

At the heart of the 36-page lawsuit is an agreement between Triax Properties LC, which wanted to buy and develop the park, Mas Verde Mobile Home Estates Inc., the former park owners, and the Golden Lantern Homeowners Association.

Under the agreement, homeowners were to receive $18,382.35 each for their mobile homes should the city agree to change the land-use on the property so that condominiums could be built.

In return, homeowners agreed not only to withdraw their objections to the land-use change but to support it before the Pinellas County Commission, any other boards and in statements to the media.

The deal fell through in October when the county admitted making a mistake when it advertised the hearing for the land-use change. The mistake meant the developer and new owner, 7950 Park Avenue LLC, would have to start over before something other than a mobile home park could be built on the 19.6 acres at 7950 Park Blvd.

At the time, attorneys for Triax and 7950 Park said that the delay meant state money needed for the development would be lost. Without the money, the development would not occur and the buyer had no real plans for a park that had cost $4.8-million. The buyer decided to close the park and evict the homeowners.

Because 7950 Park considered the agreement null, the homeowners would receive only the state-mandated $3,000 for a single-wide and $6,000 for a double-wide for homes that could be moved. The owners of single-wides that could not be moved would receive $1,375 and double-wide owners $2,750.

In addition, the homeowners had to be out of the park by May 15.

When the homeowners could not work out something with the three companies, Triax, Mas Verde and 7950 Park, they decided to sue.

"The homeowners asked them to do the right thing, and this is an effort to enlist the aid of the justice system to help the developers do the right thing," said Joe Magri, the Tampa attorney who represents the 86 homeowners and the homeowners association.

Magri said the proposed land-use change is not a dead issue.

"To my knowledge, they haven't withdrawn that petition, it's still going forward," Magri said. The county, he said, is still working to get the land-use change.

The buyer, he said, has tried to alter the deal or get out of it before and is only using the land-use issue as a smokescreen to avoid its duties under the contract with the homeowners.

Clearwater attorney Ed Armstrong, whose law firm is the registered agent for 7950 Park, said he had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment beyond saying that his client would be defended.

Also declining to comment was Robert Keathley, one of the officers of Mas Verde.

[Last modified January 27, 2007, 21:30:31]