BRADENTON BEACH – The Pines Trailer Park Homeowners Association has filed a lawsuit against park owners Pines Park Investors LLC asking in part for an injunction against the park closure and threatened evictions.
The lawsuit, filed in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court on March 28 by Sarasota-based attorney David J. Fredericks, claims that park owners failed to comply with state law, which rendered the park closure invalid. The suit also alleges that park owners failed to fulfill their obligations in good faith, did not maintain the park’s common areas and did not provide adequate parking in accordance with the city of Bradenton Beach Land Development Code.
“This action arises as a result of defendant’s unlawful actions regarding its failure to maintain and repair the park common area amenities, its defective notice to the Association, and its illegal and unconscionable actions to illegally close the park and evict the mobile home owners,” according to the complaint.
The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief related to claims that exceed $50,000.
Pines HOA President Neil Lind said on March 29 that on his attorney’s advice, he could not comment on specifics of the suit, but he spoke on behalf of residents.
“We are pleased to have submitted and filed this lawsuit,” Lind said. “We are encouraged and optimistic about the future.”
Lind said the pending park closure and receipt of eviction notices have been stressful for residents.
“A number of people have had a number of negative health outcomes,” he said. “We have been through a lot in relation to what’s been going on. There have been many sleepless nights and I’m hoping a sense of calm might prevail for a while. It’s been a struggle.”
The 86-unit waterfront mobile home park sustained flooding during Hurricane Helene in September 2024. On Dec. 9, 83 of the 86 Pines Trailer Park homeowners were told by the former city building official that they could repair their hurricane-damaged mobile homes with the proper permits. On Jan. 4, however, the homeowners received notification from the park’s ownership, Pines Park Investors, that the park was being closed.
In December, 2024, the parking lot, which had been used for an annual fee by park residents who did not have available parking, was converted into a paid public parking lot.
In a Jan. 27 letter to the Pines Trailer Park HOA, park owners offered to sell the mobile home park to the residents for $75 million.
Pines Trailer Park homeowners received an email in February outlining terms for abandonment of their mobile homes and possible extension of their tenancy to Jan. 31, 2026. Those terms include transferring the ownership of mobile homes to Pines Park Investors.
On March 17, Pines Trailer Park residents who withheld lot rental payments due to what they said was the disrepair of the park were served with demand for payment notices taped to their doors and by certified mail. The notices required either immediately paying the full amounts of past due lot rental fees or vacating the premises within five days. Those notices were from Pines Park Investors LLC and the agent for the community, Fort Lauderdale-based The Urban Group.
The lawsuit claims that the defendant has a statutory obligation to act in good faith and fair dealing with the plaintiff when fulfilling its obligations under Chapter 723 of the Florida Statutes, which governs mobile home parks, including with the issuance of a Right to Purchase Notice and its intent to change land use.
“Defendant did not deal fairly with plaintiff or act in good faith when it provided plaintiff with its grossly exaggerated $75,000,000 asking price for the park. Defendant’s failure to deal fairly or act in good faith with plaintiff effectively rendered the Right to Purchase notice null and void,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit claims that the park was appraised as of March 5 at a value of $16.6 million, approximately 22% of the proposed $75 million asking price.
Pines Park Investors purchased the 2.78-acre waterfront mobile home property on Aug. 5, 2023 from The Jackson Partnership LLLP for $16.25 million.
The mortgage for that purchase contains a covenant and agreement by the defendant not to change, or make any application to change, the existing zoning classification or land use of the park prior to the maturity date as defined by the note, which is five years from the Aug. 25, 2023 date of purchase, or Aug. 23 2028, according to the lawsuit.
According to state statute, a mobile home park owner may evict a mobile home owner, tenant, or occupant if there is a change in land use.
An October 2024 letter to residents from Pines Park Investors LLC signed by manager Shawn Kaleta is attached to the complaint and reads in part that he “is fully committed to restoring Pines Trailer Park as quickly and efficiently as possible… Our priority is that you have a safe, comfortable home once again. We are here for you during this process and want to continuing operating Pines Trailer Park long-term as a home for you and your families.”
In meetings between ownership representatives and homeowners on Oct. 28 and 29, those representatives reportedly said that rents would not be charged while the park was not operational, according to the complaint.
“With the Right to Purchase notice, the defendant offered mobile homeowners, under the threat of eviction including for rents previously asserted not to be due from the mobile homeowners, the option to execute a one-sided agreement allowing them to continue the lease of their lot in exchange for the turnover title to their mobile homes, eliminating the protections of Chapter 723, Florida Statutes,” the lawsuit claims.
The park, excluding the parking lot, was offered for sale in the Right to Purchase notice.
The complaint states that in the city’s Land Development Code, the M-1 Mobile Home Park district zoning provides that each mobile home shall be assigned one parking space, and consequently that offer “was not in good faith and lacked fair dealing as the association would not be able to operate the park in compliance with the minimum parking requirements of the City of Bradenton Beach Land Development Code.”
The lawsuit states that common areas of the park remain in disrepair following the September hurricane.
“On Sept. 26, 2024, the two shuffleboard courts, recreational hall, the recreational hall furnishing and fixtures, laundry facilities, office, and the dock running parallel to the seawall and associated boat mooring area and the fence separating the park from the abutting restaurant (common area improvements) were damaged by Hurricane Helene and have remained unrepaired and unusable as of the date of this lawsuit,” according to the complaint.
The lawsuit also alleges that numerous sewer line blockages and failures have occurred in the park and were remedied by mobile homeowners. Since November there has been no park manager as required by the park prospectus.
The plaintiffs demand a jury trial.
