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Sweet v. Roy4/26/2002
she "felt terrified" and "under a lot of stress."
Defendants Marcien and Leon Roy denied responsibility for the vandalism to plaintiff's mobile home, although Leon did admit to filling in plaintiff's hand-dug ditch because "it was a dangerous thing." Marcien, Leon, and Paula testified that plaintiff was a trespasser and had no rights as a resident because she and the party she bought the mobile home from had not followed the required procedures.
Virtually all of the rest of plaintiff's evidence dealt with other mobile home owners who resided at one time in the park. The most important of this evidence involved an earlier similar suit brought in 1986 by Mark Wright and the State of Vermont against Marcien and Mary Anne Roy. In that suit plaintiffs alleged defendants had instituted an illegal policy requiring that any tenant who wished to sell a home in the park sell to defendants and prohibiting any sale to others unless the home was removed from the park. Plaintiffs also alleged that defendants had vandalized plaintiff Wright and his mobile home when he tried to sell it to a third party.
The court found that the plaintiff's allegations were true and that the Roys had initiated the plan to acquire homes in the park because they could charge substantially higher rents for a lot and mobile home than they could for a lot alone, and would realize larger profits from their park, especially if they were able to drive down the capital expenses associated with this enterprise - namely, the purchase price of the mobile homes. The court found that in June 1986, the Roys sent the park residents a notice declaring their policy to require all mobile homes to be moved out of the park upon resale. The Roys also required each resident who sold a mobile home to pay the Roys a $200 brokerage fee whether or not the Roys assisted in the sale of the mobile home. The court found that the Roys would refuse to accept willing purchasers when a park resident sought to sell a mobile home to a third party.
The court found that the Roys used illegal self-help eviction measures against Mr. Wright. Specifically, the court found that in May 1986, Mr. Wright wanted to sell his mobile home and move in with his parents in order to regain a solid financial footing. Wright had a willing purchaser who offered $12,000, but the Roys refused to approve the sale and said no prospective purchasers would be approved. In September of that year, Wright told the Roys he would withhold his lot rent until allowed to sell his mobile home. Later that fall, Wright took a roommate to share expenses. In December, the roommate moved out after the tires on his and Wright's cars were slashed and the cars were spray painted. The television cable was cut, and snow was plowed into the driveway, blocking in the cars. The court found by a preponderance of the evidence that these acts were performed by Leon Roy.
The court found that defendants had violated the Vermont Mobile Home Park Act, 10 V.S.A. §§ 6201-6266 (the Act) in four respects. Specifically, it found illegal the policy of requiring tenants who wished to leave the park to remove the mobile home or sell it to defendants. It found illegal the rejection of prospective purchasers "for reasons that theretofore had not been prohibitions in the terms of the lease." The court also found two violations of the Vermont Consumer Fraud Act, 9 V.S.A. §§ 2451-2480g. Specifically, it found that defendants violated the act in "the strong-arm tactics used in an apparent attempt to persuade Mr. Wright to abandon his tenancy in the park."
As part of its relief, the court enjoined the Roys from "unreasonably refusing entrance [to the park] to purchasers or prospec
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