CMHOA Resident Email Updates

Update as of June 30, 2009
Today the judgment in the lawsuit between the City of San Rafael and Contempo Marin Homeowners Association and MHC Financing Limited Partnership was entered by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and this concludes the matter for Judge Walker.

As we anticipated from the judge’s order in April the judgment declares the City’s Mobilehome Rent Stabilization law (rent control ordinance) to be unconstitutional and a private taking. This judgment will gradually phase out the pad rent regulation scheme which the court has found unconstitutional.  Existing residents of Contempo Marin will be able to continue to pay pad rentals as before under the provisions of the Ordinance for a period of ten years.  The Ordinance will no longer be in effect for any buyer who purchases a home after today.

Udate as of April 20, 2009
Today we received word that Judge Walker filed his order last Friday in the Federal Case. The final judgment is expected to be entered within the next week.

In summary Judge Walker has ruled as follows:

1)    Homeowners who purchased their mobile homes before the date of the judgment will continue to be protected under the rent control ordinance for a period of ten years, at which time any further enforcement of rent control will come to an end.

2)    Homeowners who purchase a home after the date of the judgment will not participate in any rent control protection and lot rental fees will be set by ELP.

3)    The City of San Rafael has been ordered to pay $1,800,000 towards recovery of legal fees to ELP.

We are still in the process of studying the documents and our attorneys have indicated that our options are dependent on a number of items that require some research which is currently underway.

On May 5 at our next General Membership meeting we will have more information and will be there to answer questions and discuss our options going forward.

Update as of 6/27/2008
As most are aware, June 3 was a huge victory for renters in California living under the protection of rent control. We have been asked by campaign officials to forward their congratulations and utmost appreciation for the outstanding contribution from Contempo Marin residents.

Our crews played a major role in the defeat of Proposition 98 and everyone deserves credit for what they did to help. The final outcome of the election sends a clear message that Californians support an ongoing need for local governments to remain empowered to enact and enforce rent control.

It seems that quite a few have drawn an incorrect conclusion that our federal case ended in a victory once Proposition 98 was defeated. Several have congratulated us for winning our lawsuit. This is not at all accurate.

Proposition 98 was an attack on rent control separate from our federal case. The only correlation is that the defeat of proposition 98 is a victory over rent control as a whole which is likely to provide additional influence towards a favorable outcome as we move forward.

As it stands, we are still waiting for Judge Walker to rule on the final briefs filed in March. As we have always stated, there is no way to predict when he will make his decision. You will be notified of any changes in status as soon as we have any new information.

Preparations are under way to file our notice of appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court. This will be the next step taken as soon as Judge Walker has entered a judgment in our case, which will finally conclude the matter for his court, and allow us to move on. Toward that end we are meeting with our attorneys this Friday, June 28, and any additional information we have will be presented at our next general membership meeting this coming Tuesday, July 1.

The passage of time may have caused some to revert back to a frame of mind that we all broke out of on January 29 following the release of Judge Walker's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. Residents of Contempo Marin have been transformed since that day and it is obvious to all who live here. We came together and created a unified family, a village.

We must not let that energy be lost just because some time has passed.  Let us keep our eyes on the ball, and never lose sight of what we need to do next. Let us view all our neighbors as members of the team, and as our friends. Let us keep our heads held high, and remain honorable and kind, no matter what they throw at us.

These are actions that define us, and determine how we are viewed by the world. This is where our strength lies, for we are not residents of a trailer park, but instead, we are a community of wonderful people who work hard, people who have earned the right to own homes and call them their own. We deserve to live our lives in peace. This is why we fight the good fight.

We hope to see you on Tuesday night, and until then, have a restful weekend!

Update as of 3/14/2008
Our brief requesting a stay of the judge’s order pending appeal was filed this morning in the federal court. In support of arguments made in our brief a considerable number of declarations and documents were included in the filing.

Our attorneys have masterfully built a framework around numerous arguments favoring a stay pending appeal along with recent new evidence we have successfully provided for Judge Walker’s consideration.

It will be available on our website early next week. In it you will learn some of the legal arguments that will be presented in our appeal and reasons why a stay is so critical to the welfare of our residents.

In the conclusion of the brief we request the court to stay the order pending our appeal to the Ninth Circuit. Alternatively, if the court declines to grant our request, we have asked for a 90-day stay in order to seek a stay from the Ninth Circuit.

ELS has until March 31 to file their brief presenting their argument. A hearing will be scheduled by the court sometime after that date followed by the judge’s decision.

We are confident that you will be very encouraged by the outstanding work our attorneys have done for us.

Update as of 3/3/2008
We have received many requests from residents to share their hardship stories. Since ABC News will be recording us, we will use a format which will provide you with an opportunity to express yourself publicly.

The meeting will be an open forum similar to a city council meeting with a podium and a microphone. Any resident who wishes to speak will have an opportunity to express their views. Consider sharing how your personal life would be impacted if this rent increase is not stopped. At all times we must continue to exhibit a civil attitude in our expression.

We will begin with a brief status update followed by a statement from Senator Migden’s office, before we open up the meeting for resident comments.

It is important that we avoid using any slander or derogatory language in the words you choose and try and limit yourself to three minutes.  Any statement you wish to make should be prepared in advance. Present a copy of your statement to us before taking your seat and wait until your name is called. You can also email it to us in advance instead of turning it in at the meeting. When your name is called, step up to the podium and read your prepared statement.

Not all residents will have a chance to speak due to time limitations, so the earlier you turn in your statement the better. Names will be called in the order we receive statements. Your name may not be called if we find any inappropriate language in your words.

We know that many of you still have questions so a follow up meeting is being planned for Tuesday next week where we will hear more of your questions and have a group discussion about progress, planning and strategy.

At this meeting we must focus on the task of making our story known to our viewers so we ask you to hold any other questions and comments for the follow up meeting.

Update as of 2/24/2008
We applaud the efforts of all who answered the call on Friday to spread the word that the March rent increase letter was invalidated by the judge.

Some residents spread the news by phone while others printed copies of the notice and hand delivered it to their immediate neighbors. Some delivered entire sections of the park on foot and we even chased behind the mailman adding the notice to mailboxes.

This group of soldiers answered the call and did everything they could to abate the fear that would have come if a single resident had read the Underhill letter without having the benefit of knowing that it had been sent without any legal authority and was invalid.

Yesterday was a perfect example of how our efforts to remain unified, aligned and organized can make all the difference in how this plays out. Let's use this example as a reminder that we CAN influence and minimize the escalation of fear over the weeks to come.

While we make the transition to the next stage of this process, we would like for everyone to bear in mind a couple of things:

Our best defense is to remain united. For those who attended the last homeowners meeting, you heard about our need for unity. For any who missed the meeting, we ask that you answer the call. Unity gives us power in numbers. Unity is achieved by communicating as one.

We are all free to make our own choices and your association is in no position to tell any individual resident what they can or can’t do.

We simply ask you to consider, before taking any unilateral action on your own, that you notify us of your intentions before you take any such action. This includes contacting media, government agencies, politicians and lawyers and ESPECIALLY ENTERING INTO ANY NEGOTIATIONS OR DISCUSSIONS OF ANY KIND WITH MHC. In keeping us notified of your intent you are helping to insure that our right and left hands belong to one body.

MHC will continue to employ fear tactics and a divide and conquer strategy. Let's continue to counter their actions by remembering that we stand shoulder to shoulder as one.

Update as of 2/22/2008
After a meeting with Paul Cohen, Executive Director of Legal Aid of Marin, we have arranged a community forum to be held next Wednesday, Feb. 27th, from 7:30-9:00PM in the clubhouse.

This is an opportunity for you to learn about the services provided by Legal Aid of Marin, and what your legal options are going forward. There will be plenty of questions regarding strategy ideas and this forum will prove to be an invaluable resource for getting information that will be critical in your decision making process in the next months to come.

There has been a lot of fear and we understand that fully, but as we have continued to say, the more informed you are the better off you are. We are trying to rally together resources for you and provide answers to your questions. This is a great time for you to think about what you would like to ask an attorney if one were representing you individually.

We expect that any resident that has a prior engagement on Wednesday night do their best to make other arrangements as you will not want to miss this opportunity.

In order to manage the volume of questions we anticipate we have established a format which will be to take questions in written form. There will be index cards available at the meeting. Take this time to make preparations to free up this night, and decide what you want to ask.

Today was an example of how real this situation really is and how important it is for you to pay close attention to what is going on.

We will be publishing an updated list of addresses that are still not identified in our database, and will be soliciting your assistance in getting everyone tuned in.

Update as of 2/22/08
After a telephone conference with Judge Walker our attorneys were successful in their request for Judge Walker to cause MHC to withdraw the rent increase letter in your mailbox today.

This means that there WILL NOT be a rent increase on March 1.

We will provide additional information to you in a follow up message, but for the time being, please advise EVERYONE that the letter today has been withdrawn by the company.

Update as of 2/21/08
We have just received notice that letters to the residents have been mailed and you may receive one as early as tomorrow. In the letter, MHC has stated that it is their intent to act on what they consider to be their right based on the judge’s order and implement rent increases effective March 1 in the amount of $1,925.

We are still attempting to open a dialogue with the company regarding mitigation and transition planning but we have not yet heard back from them. At this time, our attorneys are fully aware of this action and have already kicked into high gear. They are currently preparing documents for the courts in order to seek an immediate short term stay.

We are also meeting with Legal Aid tomorrow morning and will have additional information following our meeting with them. We will continue to keep you advised between now and March 1 of any developments.

Update as of 2/8/08
An open letter from Craig C. Daniel of Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, legal counsel to CMHOA stating that "Upon entry of judgment, the Homeowner's Association will appeal this case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and will concurrently seek to stay enforcement of Judge Walker's ruling during the appeal."
Download letter [pdf]

Update as of 2/7/08
Judge Vaughn Walker of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued on January 29th a “Finding of Facts, Conclusions of Law and order thereon.”
Download legal pleading [pdf]

In his document he basically upheld MHC’s arguments in the suit challenging the constitutionality of San Rafael’s rent control ordinance and asked MHC to submit a proposed form of judgment.

In your Association’s previous briefings to you on the status of our legal situation we have said that this outcome was to be expected.  We have also said that if this was the outcome the City, as the defendant, and your homeowner's association, as defendant-intervener would appeal the decision and ask for a stay of execution pending the outcome of the appeal. Preparations for the appeal and the request for a stay are presently underway.  Our attorneys have been meeting to determine the strategy they propose to follow.