The Thakur Law Firm filed an appeal in the OC Superior Court on behalf of Sam and Wha Kim, stating that the elderly Korean-American couple, who speak very little English, were deprived of a fair hearing to present their case against Rancho Fullerton Mobile Home Estates due to inadequate interpretation service provided. Adding to that point was the fact that the couple (who live on fixed Social Security retirement benefits) was unable to hire an English-speaking attorney, so they appeared in Court to present evidence themselves.
The original case brought by Gregory Beam & Associates Inc., on behalf of The Nicolas Family LLC dba Rancho Fullerton Mobile Home Estates against mobile homeowners Sam and Wha Kim, took place on June 15, 2023. As a result of that hearing, Judge Corey S. Cramin in OC Superior Court granted the injunction order instructing the Kims to clean up the construction debris around their mobile home.
The Kims brought time-stamped photographs showing the approved HCD construction and clean-up had been accomplished months before the trial. Still, the Court mistakenly relied on non-time-stamped photos submitted by Nicolas’s Family lawyer, Beam, during the construction period, resulting in an injunction against the Kims. As a result of that ruling, the Kims were hit with a $12,800 bill for attorney fees from Beam.
After that court date, the couple was presented with a list of alleged violations by Rancho Fullerton manager Andrea West, which she updated and added more to several times. The list required removing a tomato plant and a persimmon tree the couple had added to their garden and removing a bug zapper, among other things.
Most recently, the couple was given a 60-day notice to vacate even though their property is tidy, and they have never missed paying their space rent. Thakur’s argument concluded with the request that the Court reverse the previous injunction order and grant a new hearing due to the fact that the Court failed to furnish an adequate interpreter and to regulate communications in the Court, depriving the Kims of their ability to present their case and, thus depriving them of due process of law.
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Thank you to the local Thakur Law Firm – the only one stepping up to help the Kims in this unfair battle brought on by the Rancho Fullerton Mobilehome Estates owner, manager, and its lawyer that could have been avoided with a bit of human compassion for the couple as they fell into health issues causing a delay in completion of their porch project. It should be noted that HCD, which permits and oversees construction projects at mobilehome parks had no trouble extending the deadline after Mr. Kim severed a finger and had a heart attack and Mrs. Kim went through some health difficulties. The park officials should have followed that example.
Despite being targeted, the elderly couple would still like to stay in their home. They are well liked at the park where they have made many friends and Mr. Kim serves as HOA President. We noticed when we visited the park that many of the homes have gardens and trees and other features that the park manager flagged as violations at the Kim’s home. Hopefully the court will reverse the unfair ruling and park management will stop targeting them.
The MHPHOA (which advocates for homeowners and tracks unfair predatory park owners such as John Saunders who bought Rancho La Paz several years ago) notes that this kind of harrassment of homeowners is common when park owners are getting ready to sell or convert properties. It was interesting that when the issue of stopping the other Senior park (Rancho La Paz) from converting to an all-age came before Fullerton City Council a month ago that Rancho Fullerton manager Andrea West sat with the Rancho La Paz park conversion expert and spoke against measures that the council was considering to stop the conversion.