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Water under the mobile home, not the bridge Photo by Steve Johnson A drain spews water Friday as it does on many days in front of Karla Podlech's home in Glenwood Mobile Home Community. Podlech sued Glenwood's owner and manager -- an unusual step -- because she said they failed to do anything about water under her house. They did install this drain, but she says the work was not done properly. Dispute turns into rare lawsuit By PETER WONG When winter runoff caused water to accumulate in her yard and under her home in 1998, Karla Podlech asked the manager of her mobile home park to find a way to remove the water. She said nothing was done, and apparently because she complained, the manager even threatened to evict her on a 30-day notice. So Podlech, who fled East Germany when it was under Communist control nearly four decades ago, did something she had never contemplated doing before. She sued Glenwood Mobile Home Community, its absentee owner and its resident manager last year in Jackson County Circuit Court. "We didn't want to come to the point of having to file a lawsuit," said Podlech, who spoke in accented English. "But nothing is done to fix the problem. Should I live that way? No. I have a right to live in a safe place. So what choice do we have except to file a lawsuit?" The park, which has more than 150 spaces, is on South Pacific Highway just north of Phoenix. Owners of mobile or manufactured homes own their structures, but more often than not, they are tenants because they rent space in a park. Though disputes between these tenants and their landlords are common, lawsuits are unusual, often because elderly tenants are unwilling or unable to push disputes to their limit. Podlech's suit alleges negligence and breach of contract for the unresolved problem with water, and a violation of state law for the threat of eviction. "As a tenant, you are entitled to lodge any legitimate complaint related to your living conditions," said her lawyer, Robert Bluth of Medford. "Simply doing that does not allow them to take retaliatory action against you. You do not have to accept a substandard place to live." In a response filed with the court in January, "defendants ... deny each and every allegation contained" in the suit, said Thomas S. Moore, a Portland lawyer who represents the park, owner Edward Borgia of Oceanside, Calif., and manager Jerry Miller. In an interview this week, Miller denied that he had threatened to evict Podlech -- "that is not a true fact" -- and that the problem with standing water under her home and in her yard "has been taken care of." Barring an out-of-court settlement, the suit is scheduled for trial Dec. 1, and a pretrial conference a month earlier. Bluth met with more than a dozen residents of Glenwood this week to hear similar complaints about alleged inaction on runoff problems. He also represents Willard and Willa Johnson, Glenwood park residents, but has filed no action on their behalf. "Nothing has been done, and I know nothing is going to be done unless we do something," Willa Johnson said during the meeting. ``As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease." Bluth said a lawsuit should be the last resort in a tenant-landlord dispute of this sort. "I attempt to resolve things at the lowest level possible with the least amount of hassle for everybody," Bluth said later. "But they did absolutely nothing. It took them awhile to come to a point of understanding. I believe we have had some success with Karla." Some drainage work has been done since the suit was filed -- a pipe now disgorges water much of the time in front of her home -- but Podlech said the work was not done properly. Miller said as for the drainage problems reported by other tenants, the water comes from South Pacific Highway and the Oregon Department of Transportation should deal with it. "That is my personal opinion," he said. "ODOT can't dump water on private property, just like anybody else can't." Jolene Thomas of Medford has been a district director for about two years of the Manufactured Home Owners of Oregon, formerly the Oregon State Tenants Association. She monitors activities in more than 300 parks in Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties -- about 20 percent of the estimated number of parks in Oregon. Although her organization has no standing in Podlech's lawsuit, Thomas was at the meeting of Glenwood residents. "Obviously we are interested because we are concerned about all manufactured homes and the problems that may occur," she said later. Thomas said the best way to resolve such a dispute is to work with the local manager of the park. "Sometimes you have to compromise, but it's really the best way," she said. "If you do not get satisfaction -- if you have a legitimate problem that is not just a matter of not getting along with your neighbor -- then other avenues are open to you." Among the others, short of a lawsuit, are a discussion with the park's owner and mediation between the tenant and management. A mediator is someone who listens to both sides and offers suggestions for resolving a dispute. The tenants association offers mediation, and so does the state ombudsman for manufactured dwelling parks. That office is part of the Department of Housing and Community Services. "Its success depends on how willing both sides are to work with each other," Thomas said. "As I understand it, this was attempted in this particular situation, but it did not work out well. "Let's face it, sometimes it's a petty situation and other times it's a situation that affects a lot of people in a park. We are not attorneys, so nothing we do can be construed as legal advice. We try to give them options to work out their problems." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA