Please Help a Courageous Woman

Lisa welcomes Mary and Kit.


My friend Kit lives in Orchard Grove Mobile Home Park in Boulder, Colorado, and I want to ask your help in dealing with an injustice that has occurred there, and which has ramifications for all mobile home owners in the state of Colorado.


Background

 
In June 2015, residents of Orchard Grove were notified by Riverstone Communities, the new owners of the neighborhood, that they were going to start billing for water. This announcement was a great surprise since virtually all residents have leases that include the line “The PARK will provide the RESIDENT with sewer, water, and normal garbage service at no extra charge.”

 
Recent Court Case


One resident, Ms. Lisa Ferreira, decided to challenge the water charge by refusing to pay it. She was given an eviction notice and went to court on February 12, 2016. Lisa argued her case on the basis of her lease, which states that the owners will provide water at no extra charge, and on the basis of the Colorado Mobile Home Park Act, which specifically prohibits use of eviction as a means to collect utility charges. Judge John Stavely heard the case and, offering no cogent reasons for doing so, ruled in favor of Riverstone.
 

It is worth noting that Lisa offered herself as the test case on behalf of others who could not afford to take that risk. And the reward for her courage, should she lose the appeal, will be the loss of her home (since it is too old to be moved) and her community of 28 years.



Larger Problem
 

Beyond the effects on Lisa, loss of the appeal would affect not only all the rest of the families and individuals living in the same mobile home park, but also every mobile home owner in the state of Colorado. Losing this case would establish the precedent of park owners being able to break the terms of the leases they have with home owners, and to use eviction for nonpayment of utilities.

 
How You Can Help
 

Lisa has used her personal funds up to now. She paid to consult with a lawyer before her eviction trial. She could not afford to hire him to represent her in court so she represented herself. She paid the court costs for the trial that she lost. She paid to file for an appeal. She paid hundreds of dollars for the transcript of the trial required for the appeal.


She has now exhausted her own financial resources, and she still has to hire a lawyer to write up the brief for her appeal. This alone will cost $1200.  And if she loses the appeal, she’ll have only a few days to put all her belongings in storage and find immediate emergency housing while she looks for a permanent home. It is unlikely that she will be able to sell her current home in the few days allotted, so she will almost certainly lose it.

 
To cover all these expenses, we need to raise $10,000.
 

Several of her neighbors in the mobile home park have offered to lend the money she needs to start the appeal process. But all that money will have to be reimbursed.

 
Please consider donating money to help Lisa fight this legal battle against an unscrupulous out-of-state corporation.  The outcome  will affect not only the over 200 families in Orchard Grove but also the thousands of mobile home owners in the state of Colorado.



"When an individual is protesting society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him."  

               --Bayard Rustin, Civil Rights activist (1912-1987)