FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (St. Cloud, Minn.) — Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid and Robins Kaplan LLP announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota has granted final approval of a settlement in a class action lawsuit on behalf of residents of the Sartell Mobile Home Park.
On May 27, the Honorable Judge Laura M. Provinzino granted final approval of the settlement with the park’s current owners, Gemstone Communities and Sartell MHC, LLC, requiring them to address long-standing habitability and billing issues affecting dozens of families.
Under the settlement, the current owners have agreed to make repairs, fix billing issues, and honor residents’ original lease agreements.
"We filed a class action lawsuit more than a year ago to help members of this community who were exposed to raw sewage, wildly overbilled for utilities, and pressured into signing new and illegal lease agreements,” says Legal Aid Attorney Mary Kaczorek. “We’re pleased the Court has approved relief requiring the current owners to address these problems. But this fight is not over.”
Robins Kaplan Partner Anne Lockner adds, “Our clients’ concerns date back years, beginning under the mobile home park’s prior ownership. We are pleased to have secured court-approved relief addressing current conditions, and we will continue pursuing damages from the prior owners to compensate our clients for the hardships they endured, as alleged in the complaint. For too long, our clients felt unheard. We look forward to helping ensure their voices are heard and their claims are fairly resolved.”
Plaintiff Cheryl Skaj, a longtime resident, expressed cautious optimism about the changes:
“I’m just wanting things run smoother and not have to worry about this in the long run. I don’t want any more issues. I’m glad Gemstone is willing to fix the issues at the park. I hope going forward that there are no more major issues. [Gemstone] walked into a pretty big mess.”
Members of the represented class and residents of Sartell Mobile Home Park (past and present) can view the Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement.
The class claims against the previous owners remain active and ongoing.
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Media contacts:
Lisa Ramirez
Communications Director
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
lramirez@mylegalaid.org
612.746.3641
Taylor Pentelovitch
Director of Marketing & Communications
Robins Kaplan LLP
TPentelovitch@RobinsKaplan.com
612.349.0991
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