Attorney Gregory Beam of Gregory Beam & Associates sent park homeowners Sam and Wha Kim a bill for over $12,000 (twelve thousand) related to work he says he did in preparing materials to sue the elderly couple on behalf of Rancho Fullerton Mobilehome Estates located on Valencia in Fullerton. In addition, the couple also received a 60-Day Notice to Terminate. The couple are weighing their options though the threatening letter asks the court for an additional $1,300 if they attempt to fight to stay.
The Kims in their garden.
The couple, who have never missed a monthly payment on their space, are well-liked by neighbors, and Mr. Kim serves as the community’s HOA vice president. They live on their combined Social Security retirement income and are now in a very difficult situation with 60 days to sell their mobile home and move, plus a $12,000 bill. Added to this is the problem that mobile homes are notoriously non-mobile and very expensive to move, presuming there was anywhere to move them. If the couple were to find a buyer on such short notice, the new homeowner would have to be pre-approved by the park management, who could say no – which would force the couple to sell directly to the park at a very low price.
The 20-page bill from Attorney Beam, dated July 14, 2023, comes a week after the couple received the 60-day notice and a month after Judge Corey Cramin granted an injunction demanding construction materials on the property be removed. It is apparent that the Kim’s time-stamped photos showing that those things had already been done were not seen by the Judge, who appears to have made his decision based on Attorney Beam’s submitted photos taken during the park-approved construction of an enclosed porch to their home.
At the June 15 court hearing, the Kims waited their turn to explain to the Judge that – though it was true that their property had been a construction zone as the addition was being built, it was now in good order as evidenced by their current time-stamped June 10, 2023 photos. But their turn never came. During the less than half-hour hearing, the Kims were provided headphone translation from English to Korean, which they said they could not understand, and then suddenly, before they could present their evidence, it was all over.
The following week, feeling like the Judge had missed seeing their evidence, the Kim’s once again re-submitted their photos to both the court and the park attorney. Because of the time-stamping on the Kim’s photos showing the property’s current condition, one would expect the case to have been dismissed by Judge Cramin or at least later reversed when he did see them. But that has not, as yet, happened.
Completion of the project took several months longer than Mr. Kim expected due to a late October accident slicing his finger. His doctor ordered no work until April after it healed. The couple might have hired someone to finish the addition, but they are living on fixed incomes that didn’t allow for that luxury – so they waited for the time it took Mr. Kim to heal. After healing, Mr. Kim completed the project, which passed inspection by the CA State Dept. of Housing and Community Development (HCD), which oversees the construction of mobile homes. While waiting for the inspection appointment date, the Kims removed all tools and construction materials that were left over.
The Kims also brought to the attention of the park manager – Mr. Kim’s injury, doctor’s note, and the June 2023 extended completion date granted by HCD. And, according to park lawyer Beam’s itemized billing notes, those subjects, plus the Kim’s unofficial complaint of discrimination and harassment and the most recent photos, were all discussed with his clients well before the court date, and yet, Attorney Beam failed to submit the new photos.
The 60-day Notice to Terminate listed a new set of alleged violations around the Kims mobile home which included: installing a railing in the carport without park approval, installing wooden planters, attaching a bug zapper with a bungee cord, planting a tree, failing to maintain landscaping, overgrown plants, weeds, storing items around the premises (not spelled out but referring to a BBQ, and outdoor tables and chairs), and installing a makeshift fence (this refers to a line of tiles set up to cover the gap at the bottom of the unsightly chainlink fence separating the back of their space from the park’s asphalt parking lot to prevent critters from entering their yard.) The threatening letter also claimed that the couple was in contempt of court for not fixing items spelled out in the Judge’s June 15 order (even though those things had been remedied well before the court date). Also listed was the removal of the arbor over the doorway even though, as mentioned by the Judge, that should not happen until the endangered bird had vacated its nest per order by the Dept. of Fish & Wildlife.
Attorney Beam, Park Manager Andrea West, and Park owner Susan James Denton declined to return calls for comment.
For documents in this case, visit occourts.org case lookup and search for Case No. 30-2023-01323971 Nicolas Family LLC, a California limited liability company dba Rancho Fullerton Mobilehome Estates vs. Samuel Kim and Wha Kim and DOES 1 through 10 (note: About DOES 1 through 10 – is the park planning more termination notices?)
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Categories: Local Business, Local Government, Local News
My concern is the judge the OC court system. Is Judge Corey Cramin’s case load so heavy that he can’t be bothered to review evidence or ensure that the Kim’s are heard in court?
STOP THIS TYPE OF ELDERLY ABUSE.
I an 100% for the Kim’s and think they are being unfairly forced out, to the point of it being fraudulent and/or elder abuse, but I have a pet peeve with the misuse of the word “eviction” in this case. An eviction is a court ordered removal of someone from a property after a legal hearing has been conducted. Giving someone a notice that their lease is being terminated, even for cause, is not an eviction. The Kim’s are not being evicted. They are simply being told that the park ownership no longer wants to rent to them. If the Kim’s fail to vacate, then the park will file an unlawful detainer motion which could lead to an eviction, if they judge sides with the park owners. Let’s pray for the Kim’s sake this does not happen..I hope they get help.
Thank you for the correction and clarification. You are correct. I will make the changes.
The Kims have now made the “corrections” listed on the new list, including destroying their flower garden and removing the arbor (now that the endangered bird and its fledglings have flown away). Whether this will make any difference to the park manager is still unknown since the 60-day termination date requiring them to move has not been rescinded. Also, the $12,000 park attorney demand for payment from the couple who live on their social security has not been reversed. So the couple is still under pressure to leave the park – which they were hoping not to have to do.
I am CEO of Mobilehome Advisory Committee, Inc., a San Diego area non-profit. Parks are being bought by groups of billionaire equity investors. If the new owners can financially (or otherwise) evict residents, the park can acquire their homes for its own use as park-owned rentals at market rate. This is happening throughout California and nationwide. If anyone is in touch with these park residents, please provide them with the following legal resources in their area:
Lawyer Referral & Information Service Committee
Orange County Bar Association
https://www.ocbar.org
Fullerton Legal Aid & Pro Bono Services:
https://www.justia.com/lawyers/california/fullerton/legal-aid-and-pro-bono-services
Community Legal Aid SoCal
(800) 834-5001
2101 N. Tustin Ave
Santa Ana, CA 92705
Chapman University School of Law – Alona Cortese Elder Law Center
(714) 628-2504
462 N. Glassell Street
Orange, CA 92866
Community Legal Services
(562) 864-9935
11834 Firestone Blvd
Norwalk, CA 90650
Western State University College of Law Onsite Legal Clinic
(714) 459-1101
1 Banting
Irvine, CA 92618
COMMUNITY LEGAL AID: Paralegal Services, Legal …
communitylegalaid.com
https://communitylegalaid.com
Paralegal Services, Legal Document Assistant Services, Legal Services, Affordable Rates, Divorces, … LOW RATES LDA LEGAL SERVICES … Fullerton, CA 92835
Thank you. This information is exactly what I was hoping to find for them.
Seniors in Orange County who are in predicaments as this couple can call Community Legal Aid SoCal for assistance at no cost. We are a non-profit legal services organization and have a Seniors Unit. For help, our Intake and Assessment hotline is 800-834-5001 and open Monday – Thursday 9 am to 6 pm and on Friday 9 am to 12 noon. Seniors can also apply for our services via our website http://www.communitylegalsocal.org by clicking on the Apply For Help button at the top right. The online intake application is open in the evening, 6 pm to 9 am on weekends.
Also, this sounds like it could be discriminatory and elder abuse. They are buying these homes back from seniors for pennys and flipping them or resting them out at a premium. I truly hope they can fight this and someone investigates them for elder abuse.
OCBA Lawyer Referral & Information Service
Orange County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
http://www.lrisoc.org
Request a referral on-line or call us at (949) 440-6747 or (877) 257-4762. The OCBA’s Lawyer Referral & Information Service (LRIS) is the only non-profit . . .
Fullerton Legal Aid & Pro Bono Services – Lawyer Directory
Justia
https://www.justia.com › … › California › Fullerton
Fullerton Legal Aid & Pro Bono Services ; Community Legal Aid SoCal (800) 834-5001 2101 N. Tustin Ave Santa Ana, CA 92705.
This park is committing financial elder abuse and harassment. I hope someone can help them and sue the the park manager and owner. I looked at a home in this park several months ago and saw lots of for sale signs in the yards. Leads me to believe there’s something very fishy going on in this park and somebody needs to find counsel to represent all of the seniors in this park. Again this is financial elder abuse.
This is just so very wrong.
Aren’t there enough people facing homelessness. How can you possibly be evicting these people who have always paid their rent took care of a problem when they were notified to do so?
Shame on all involved. Isn’t there anyone who can step up to help them.
Is this because they are Korean or just because they are old.