Mattawa mobile park owner accused of Consumer Protection Violations

MATTAWA - Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed a complaint in Grant County Superior Court against Gary Chavers, owner of Sun & Sand Mobile Home Park in Mattawa, saying Chavers has violated consumer protection laws.

Ferguson said last week that Chavers, who lives in Seattle, has been forcing tenants, mostly monolingual Spanish-speaking Mexicans, to sign "purchase" contracts so that he could evade city health and safety inspections and avoid the expense of improving the conditions of the mobile homes.

Ferguson said Chavers has been served. Chavers' attorney Christopher Ries of Moses Lake, had "no comment" on the matter last week, according to the person who answered the phone at his office.

According to Mattawa City Clerk Robin Newcomb, Chavers is not well known to the city, but he has visited city hall on occasion regarding matters pertaining to the mobile home park.

Newcomb said the city notified Chavers of the need to inspect the units. She said he appealed to a hearing examiner at a hearing held at city hall. After Chavers produced contracts showing he didn't own the units, the hearing officer sided with him.

Newcomb said the city did not pursue the matter after that. However, she said, ownership of the units by the occupants was not recorded at the county the last time the city checked.

The AG is seeking civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation of the Consumer Protection Act, restitution for residents and attorneys' fees and costs. He said Columbia Legal Services brought this case to his attention.

According to Ferguson, the tenants, mostly farm workers, were told they must sign the contracts or move out.

"Chavers took advantage of a vulnerable population and devised a scheme to evade legal and financial responsibilities on the backs of his tenants," Ferguson said.

According to Ferguson, Chavers has owned and operated the 54-unit Sun & Sand Mobile Home Park in Mattawa as a rental property since 1991.

After a house fire in which a mother and two children died in 2009, the city passed an ordinance requiring all rental properties to pass health and safety inspections. Ferguson said that less than 60 days after Chavers learned of the new city safety ordinance, he "devised a scheme to sell the mobile homes" to the tenants who occupy them.

Through the "sham sales," Ferguson said, Chavers attempted to evade compliance with the Mattawa ordinance and thereby avoid the expense of improving the "poor" condition of the Sun & Sand mobile homes.

According to Ferguson, Chavers directed the manager of the park to have tenants sign "purchase" contracts. He said the manager told some tenants they weren't really buying the homes but still renting them.

"Due to Chavers' deception, which led them to believe they would continue to rent the homes, and their fear of losing housing, most tenants signed the contracts," Ferguson said.

Chavers himself did not treat the contracts as sales agreements, Ferguson said. He said Chavers didn't pay excise tax on the supposed sales nor provide legally required disclosures. After tenants signed the contracts they continued to pay, and Chavers continued to accept, the identical monthly payment as when tenants rented the mobile homes, Ferguson said.

"When they move out, he returns their security deposits," Ferguson said. "Although they "purchased" their mobile homes, some tenants were told they could not take the mobile home with them when they leave Sun & Sand. Instead, Chavers has new tenants sign a sham purchase contract on the same homes."

Ferguson said Sun & Sand mobile homes are in poor condition. There is mold, there are cockroaches, and there are bedbugs, he said. Ferguson said residents have been left without functional plumbing for days. There are doors that blow open in the wind if not tied shut.

"Tenants ask for these conditions to be repaired, but Chavers either ignores the tenants' requests or takes months or years to complete the repairs," Ferguson said.

The lawsuit claims Chavers' actions in creating this sales scheme are unfair and deceptive business practices that violate the Washington Consumer Protection Act, Retail Installment Act and Consumer Loan Act.

Ferguson is asking the court to declare that the sales were a sham. As a result, tenants might have the option to either void the contract and continue to be treated as the renters they actually are, or buy the mobile home under fair market terms the court would set.

"Under either scenario, Chavers must repair all mobile homes to make them habitable," Ferguson said.