Delaware News

Attorney General Jennings obtains victory for manufactured housing residents

Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Thursday, April 11, 2024


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Attorney General Kathy Jennings has obtained a preliminary victory for residents of the Pine Haven manufactured home community after the community owner, Blue Beach Bungalows DE, LLC, violated statutory protections afforded to the residents. An administrative hearing officer issued an opinion last Thursday, April 4th, finding that Blue Beach has willfully violated Delaware’s Consumer Fraud Act, among other laws, and ordered the company to pay over $800,000 in penalties, along with rebates of excess rent paid by residents.  Blue Beach has 30 days to appeal the order.  

“Owners of manufactured home communities should consider themselves on notice,” said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. “Exploiting vulnerable Delawareans with threats and lies is not something manufactured home community owners can expect to get away with.”   

 

“We’re grateful for the DOJ’s vigorous enforcement of our state’s manufactured housing and consumer fraud laws against an exploitive community owner who took advantage of vulnerable residents,” said Anthony Panicola, Supervising Attorney of the Elder Law Program at Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI). “CLASI is proud to have worked together with DOJ on this important enforcement action, which will help ensure that community owners respect residents’ fundamental rights going forward.”

In April 2023, after receiving numerous complaints from residents, AG Jennings’ Consumer Protection Unit (the “CPU”) issued a Summary Cease and Desist Order requiring Blue Beach to refrain from making false statements to residents and evicting residents in violation of the law, among other things. The Cease and Desist Order was accompanied by a complaint detailing how residents were subjected to illegal rent increases, illegally threatened with eviction and arrest, and, in some cases, forced out of their homes prematurely. An administrative proceeding followed, culminating in an administrative hearing in September 2023.    

“The harm caused by [Blue Beach]’s actions cannot be undone,” the Hearing Officer wrote in a 90-page opinion issued on April 4th. Despite being operated as a manufactured home community with “numerous year-round residents,” the park owner repeatedly made false and misleading claims as to the nature of the park as justification for taking action against residents. The Hearing Officer ordered the park owner to rebate all tenants and former tenants “any excess rental payments,” and awarded an administrative penalty of $737,000 for willful violations of the Consumer Fraud Act, as well as a penalty of $94,000 for violations of the Cease and Desist Order. The park owner has the option to appeal, and the order is not final until the window for appeal is closed.  

A number of Pine Haven residents targeted for eviction by the park owner were protected due to a recent amendment to Delaware’s Manufactured Housing Code. 2022’s House Bill 374, proposed by Attorney General Jennings and sponsored by Representative Madinah Wilson-Anton, expanded the definition of a manufactured home to include certain camper trailers, recreational vehicles, and motor homes.  

Manufactured housing complaints can be made to the Office of the Manufactured Housing Ombudsperson on the Delaware Department of Justice’s website or by calling the hotline at (800) 220-5424.   

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Attorney General Jennings obtains victory for manufactured housing residents

Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Thursday, April 11, 2024


Navy blue background featuring the Delaware state seal in the center

Attorney General Kathy Jennings has obtained a preliminary victory for residents of the Pine Haven manufactured home community after the community owner, Blue Beach Bungalows DE, LLC, violated statutory protections afforded to the residents. An administrative hearing officer issued an opinion last Thursday, April 4th, finding that Blue Beach has willfully violated Delaware’s Consumer Fraud Act, among other laws, and ordered the company to pay over $800,000 in penalties, along with rebates of excess rent paid by residents.  Blue Beach has 30 days to appeal the order.  

“Owners of manufactured home communities should consider themselves on notice,” said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. “Exploiting vulnerable Delawareans with threats and lies is not something manufactured home community owners can expect to get away with.”   

 

“We’re grateful for the DOJ’s vigorous enforcement of our state’s manufactured housing and consumer fraud laws against an exploitive community owner who took advantage of vulnerable residents,” said Anthony Panicola, Supervising Attorney of the Elder Law Program at Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI). “CLASI is proud to have worked together with DOJ on this important enforcement action, which will help ensure that community owners respect residents’ fundamental rights going forward.”

In April 2023, after receiving numerous complaints from residents, AG Jennings’ Consumer Protection Unit (the “CPU”) issued a Summary Cease and Desist Order requiring Blue Beach to refrain from making false statements to residents and evicting residents in violation of the law, among other things. The Cease and Desist Order was accompanied by a complaint detailing how residents were subjected to illegal rent increases, illegally threatened with eviction and arrest, and, in some cases, forced out of their homes prematurely. An administrative proceeding followed, culminating in an administrative hearing in September 2023.    

“The harm caused by [Blue Beach]’s actions cannot be undone,” the Hearing Officer wrote in a 90-page opinion issued on April 4th. Despite being operated as a manufactured home community with “numerous year-round residents,” the park owner repeatedly made false and misleading claims as to the nature of the park as justification for taking action against residents. The Hearing Officer ordered the park owner to rebate all tenants and former tenants “any excess rental payments,” and awarded an administrative penalty of $737,000 for willful violations of the Consumer Fraud Act, as well as a penalty of $94,000 for violations of the Cease and Desist Order. The park owner has the option to appeal, and the order is not final until the window for appeal is closed.  

A number of Pine Haven residents targeted for eviction by the park owner were protected due to a recent amendment to Delaware’s Manufactured Housing Code. 2022’s House Bill 374, proposed by Attorney General Jennings and sponsored by Representative Madinah Wilson-Anton, expanded the definition of a manufactured home to include certain camper trailers, recreational vehicles, and motor homes.  

Manufactured housing complaints can be made to the Office of the Manufactured Housing Ombudsperson on the Delaware Department of Justice’s website or by calling the hotline at (800) 220-5424.   

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.