Elderly Homeowners Claim They Have Suffered Through Years of Developer Litigation

January 15, 2003

By Peter Amherst

Jim Battin, California state senator for Desert Hot Springs, is in hot water with homeowners.

In Desert Crest, a 577 plus trailer park retirement community located in his district, elderly homeowners - some in their 80's and 90's - have been battling the developer and his homeowner association in court for years. Some have even died in the process. One homeowner recently reported that two nephrologists had told him that the projected time for him to go on kidney dialysis had been reduced from five years to one year. He says that it is the stress of all the lawsuits that is causing this.

Despite winning time and time again in the courts, the homeowners are repeatedly being dragged back into them. At the heart of the issue, according to the homeowners, is the effort by the developer to impose mandatory membership fees on the homeowners in his private recreation club. The club consists of a pool, a recreation hall and a 9-hole mini pitch and putt golf facility. The fees are approximately $80 per month.

When the courts declared that the developer had no right to impose these mandatory membership fees, the developer, according to the homeowners, paid a man by the name of John Ford to take over the board of directors of the homeowner association. Ford then proceeded to hold an election that allegedly changed the CCR's to require mandatory membership. The homeowners claim that this was not a valid vote, and say that they have been denied access to the election results.

The economic incentive for the developer was clear. At $80 per month for at least 577 homes, the annual take would be $553,920. (Reliable reports indicate that there is another developer in Battin's district that has tried to impose mandatory membership in a private club on the homeowers. This would guarantee an annual take of over $1 million. a year for the developer.)

However, the courts once again ruled against the developer. But their nightmare is still not over, as the developer has once again appealed the court's decision.

The taking of homes by builders and lawyers using rigged homeower association laws made by the California politicians in return for campaign contributions has skyrocketed home foreclosures. California has the dubious title of being number one in the world in lawsuits, foreclosures, stolen 401Ks and high energy bills .

The homeowners have repeatedly called Jim Battin's office for help. The local papers have covered the story. He and his staff know about the situation, but he not only has done nothing to help, but has not even contacted them. Homeowners around the state find this particularly galling, because he solicited compaign contributions and votes from them and had promised homeowners living in homeowner associations to help them when he was first running for office.

His opponent at that time was Julie Bornstein, the Democratic incumbent. She had angered homeowners because of her unabashed support for the homeowner association industry lawyers. She was so beholden to them that she had introduced a bill (AB1545) that would have placed association assessment liens before even the first trust deed. The bill died under withering criticisms from homeowners and banks, and Bornstein lost the election.

Bornstein now lives on as the housing consultant to governor Gray Davis - the architect of the infamous Davis Stirling Act. It was this act which created the laws that currently strangle homeowners living in homeowner associations. The act was so bad that even the person who wrote it, Katherine Rosenberry, admitted at a California Law Revision Commission meeting in Sacramento in 2002 that "it was a mess". She frankly stated that she had been told "to take care of the special interests". She was in a good position to do that as she had been the president of the largest homeowner association industry lobbying group - Community Associations Institute (CAI).

In the midst of all this, Battin who had pledged before he was elected to be a friend of homeowners, has been as a silent as a Cistercian monk since he was elected. Cistercian monks take a vow of silence.

But Battin has not been silent when it comes to his developer friends. If a developer is a politician's best friend, then Battin has many best friends. He has apparently never met a developer whom he did not like.Even before he was elected, he was beating the developers' drums. In fact, he was a developer-financed politician.

Though he courted homeowners in order to get elected, he has never returned homeowner calls since he was elected even though the media has contained many articles on these homeowners' plight. Some homeowners at Desert Crest wonder whether the developer who is at the root of all their troubles, is not one of Battin's friends.

Battin still sends Christmas cards to those who donated to his election, showing him with his smiling family against the backdrop of a waterfall. But those elderly homeowners on fixed incomes in their trailer park were not smiling this Christmas, and the only backdrop they had was a cascading waterfall of lawsuits in what was supposed to be their golden years. They feel deserted in these final years of their lives. As one homeowner put it, "Did I fight for my country, and put my life on the line so that people like Battin could sit in their gilded chambers in Sacramento and do nothing? That tells you how rotten everything is!"


© AHRC News Services 2003.
This and other articles by AHRC authors are available for reprint by newspapers , magazines and other publications. Please contact AHRC News Services for more information.


Copy of Elder Abuse Lawsuit by Seniors


Contact list for this story;

AHRC News Services (949)366-2125 AHRC has received numerous complaints on both Fiore, Racobs & Powers and Peters & Freedman. They have have been sending them to the authorities.

Charles Honeycutt -(760)329-7603 a government retiree in Desert Crest Community Association and victim of several lawsuits. Has filed complaints with the county and state authorities. His doctors told him that his kidneys are working at 25% and that the stress is shutting his kidneys down quicker. He was also told that he would need to go on dialysis in a year instead of the five years, they told him.

Shirley Cottom (760)251-3175 - one of several Desert Crest Community Association residents facing a foreclosure suit by Peters & Freedman this Friday. She was a board member that John Ford recalled.

Dave Barela- (909)861-1111 -attorney for seniors His aunt Eva Sanchez lives here and has been subjected to repeated harassment, humiliation and lawsuits. He has filed an elder abuse, unfair business practice lawsuit against the association, the club owners and John Ford. on behalf of 50 seniors. CHUBB Insurance is defending the board. Peters & Freedman is defendig the club, The case is set for a jury trial .

Doug Rosner: (818)501-8400 attorney for seniors He read the AHRC press release and joined his law school classmate , Dave Barela, to help the seniors with their case.

Judge Charles E, Stafford Jr (760)863-8127- Superior Court, Commissioner Hudspeth- Palm Springs Small Claims Court - , Judge Lawrence W.Fry (760)-863-8127 - all repeatedly ruled for the homeowners - County of Riverside Courts , California

To view court cases search the following names as both plaintiff and defendant against numerous homeowners in the Indio court website::

OSCA Development
Desert Crest Community Association
John Ford
John A. Erickson
Desert Crest County Club



Willowdean Vance -(949)770-6019 or (813)631-0423 homeowner activist - has extensive information on Fiore and Peters & Freedman foreclosure activities . She has filed numerous complaints with the various governmental agencies about both these lawfirms.

Melvin Thomas - .(760)731-1000 attorney, CPA and broker. He has donated alot of time writing articles educating homeowners about homeowner associations. He has extensive knowledge base about the practices of CAI homeowner association lawyers and mangers. He was recently purchasing vacant land in a rural Riverside area, which he thought had a minimal association. When he asked the association manager for financial information, Pters & Freedman sent him a "threatening" letter. He cancelled the escrow.

The Desert Sun a Gannet Newspaper- Publisher Robert Dickey, Execiutive Editor Steve Silberman, Managing Editor Julie Shirley. Margaret Wangler, the association board's lawyer writes the "homeowner advice column" in the Desert Sun. The homeowners want a pro-homeowner columnist. They have cancelled their subscription in protest.

Margaret Wangler - Fiore, Racobs, Powers -attorney for the board at Desert Crest Community Association . She writes a "consumer" column in the Desert Sun and refers homeowners to CAI lawyers, who make a living suing homeowners and others in associations. Homeowners called several CAI lawyers to represent them against the association and the club owner. All refused to take their case.

Simon Freedman and David Peters -(760)436-3441 lawyers represented the board when John Ford took over the association and changed the CCRs to mandate fees to the private club. After changing the CCRs Ford moved to become president and CEO of the club. Peters & Freedmen continued advising Ford ,began representing the Club and have been taking the homeowners to court repeatedly to collect fees for this private club. Homeowners are questioning Peters & Freedman's conflicts of interest and have written to the bar.

John Ford - ex-President of Desert Crest Community Association, CEO and President of country club until the club was sold to investors He worked with lawyers to change CCRs to mandate fees to country club after the owners were told by judges they did not have to pay unless they wanted to use the club. Later he became president and CEO of the club and is using Peters&Freedman to harass homeowners with repeated lawsuits. So far the the judges have ruled for the owners in 14 lawsuits. The repeated lawsuits have taken a toll. In the last lawsuit, four of the seniors died while waiting to go the court. Two turned in their lots to make the lawsuit go away. Others, terrified of being made homeless, paid everything the lawyers asked. Four went to court. Judge Stafford again told Simon Freedman that the owners could not be forced to pay mandatory fees to a private business.

Jack Erickson - developer - owner of OSCA Development and the club. The seniors say he financed John Ford's recall of the old board and the CCR change.

Jim Battin - California State Senator represents these senior victims. He ignores homeowner calls. He has been busy helping write laws for builders and vendors.

California Governor Gray Davis (D) - asked a CAI lobbyist to write the the California homeowner association laws and "take care of the lobbyists" . The lobbyists have paid him back handsomely - $43,000,000 flowed to his bank account. In return he appoints industry lobbyists to head government offices e.g. the Department of Real Estate, and makes sure no laws are passed to hinder the millions flowing into lobbyists and his pockets.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D)- worked closely with CAI lawyers when he was a legislator. He keeps on takings millions from lobbyists and refuses to protect homeowners and seniors who face civil rights violations and fraudulent forecloses. CAI lawyers and lobbyists have contributed millions to him. He uses all his resources to sue people but not the the white collar corporate criminals or the CAI foreclosure barons who prey on homeowners and seniors and take their homes.

CHUBB Insurance - provides defense for Desert Crest Homeowner association board. CHUBB was receiving $60,000,000 in state mandated premiums from homeowners and using this money to defend rogue boards and managers even when they broke the law. They gave premium kickbacks to CAI lawyers and managers for selling Directors & Officers liability policies.

Jackie Speier - Chair of the California Senate Insurance Committee . Speier has the duty to see that insurance companies abide by laws. Homeowners complained to her that state mandated insurance policies are used to to 1) cover board members who break the law 2) cover managers - homeowners should not have to pay for vendors policies 3) give premium kickbacks to CAI lawyers and managers 4) litigate against them in court by law breaking boards and managers. Many who lost life savings and homes asked Speier to hold hearings on insurance abuse by CHUBB. Speier, uses Davis, California's foreclosure baron, to draw lobbyists to her fund raisers and ignores insurance company fraud.