Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (“CLASI”) and the Delaware Manufactured Home Owners Association (“DMHOA”) have filed an amicus brief with the Delaware Supreme Court through our pro bono counsel from the prominent Delaware law firm Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP, in a case that could significantly impact the state’s ability to enforce its consumer protection laws and defend the rights of manufactured homeowners.
The case, Blue Beach Bungalows DE, LLC v. Delaware Department of Justice Consumer Protection Unit, involves the Pine Haven manufactured housing community in Sussex County, where the owner illegally raised rents, threatened residents with eviction and arrest, and forced people from their homes prematurely.
After working with the residents whose rights had been violated, CLASI provided information to the Delaware DOJ’s Consumer Protection Unit, which conducted an investigation and issued a Summary Cease and Desist Order and complaint against the community owner. Following an administrative hearing process, the owner was ordered to pay over $800,000 in penalties for willfully violating Delaware’s Consumer Fraud Act and other laws, and to rebate the excess rents paid.
The owner appealed and is now urging the Delaware Supreme Court to rule that the Consumer Protection Unit’s administrative enforcement process is unconstitutional on the grounds that it violates their right to a jury trial under the Delaware Constitution.
CLASI and DMHOA filed our amicus brief to detail why this administrative process is constitutional, and how it provides a critical tool for ensuring that manufactured housing community owners respect residents’ fundamental rights–and for enforcing consumer protection laws more generally.
Many of Delaware’s manufactured community residents are older adults living on fixed incomes, and do not have the means to enforce the Consumer Fraud Act on their own. With over 20,000 homes situated in more than 170 registered manufactured housing communities across the state, CLASI and DMHOA also do not have the resources to assist everyone who needs help. The DOJ’s administrative enforcement process is vital to ensuring that these vulnerable homeowners are protected.
The brief was written by leading intellectual property litigators Jack Blumenfeld, Karen Jacobs, and Ben Yenerall of Morris Nichols. We are grateful to them for their volunteer efforts on behalf of our organizations and the people we serve.
Read the amicus brief here: CLASI and DMHOA Amicus Brief – Blue Beach Bungalows DE, LLC v. Delaware Dept. of Justice Consumer Protection Unit