Mobile Home Parks Owned by K&S Companies

Ametek Granted Partial Judgment in Alleged Ground Contamination Case

Thu, May 10, 2018 – The owners of mobile home parks were not able to immediately claim compensatory damages after they alleged a nearby facility dumped toxic waste on its property.

The court stated that Ametek pointed out the plaintiff Greenfield MHP Associates LP, et al. are not allowed to be rewarded compensatory damages grounded on any potential remediation costs for the future. The district court decided the case will proceed under the notion that if the plaintiffs do win at trial when it comes to Ametek’s alleged liability, the district court will move forward with the new information in mind.

The legal issues between the parties began after the mobile home parks' owners filed a lawsuit against Ametek and Senior Operations LLC after a manufacturing facility allegedly contaminated the ground after it released toxic chemicals, including more than 500,000 gallons of liquid waste into the soil and water by 2003. The plaintiffs allege a plume extended beyond the facility's boundaries and contaminated soil and groundwater under the mobile home parks. An expert pointed out that if the plume was not remediated, it could impact the plaintiffs' properties for 185 years, the court's decision states.
Charmaine Little / Northern California Record

El Cajon Toxic Plume Still a Problem for Mobile Home Residents

Fri, Feb 23, 2018 – Ana Hayes moved into her home at the Starlight Mobile Home Park in El Cajon in 1969. It’s where she raised her three children, and it’s where she and her husband still live.

Hers is one of the 457 mobile homes that sits above a toxic groundwater plume that residents first learned about in October 2016, though state officials and the company responsible for the contamination knew about it in the late 1980s.

So far, 151 homes in the Starlight, Greenfield and Villa Cajon mobile home parks have been tested, and 63 more are expected to be tested this year.

Lawsuits Filed Against Ametek

The lawsuits allege that Ametek “knowingly, willfully and intentionally failed” to stop the contamination from spreading and possibly affecting nearby homes and businesses. Fiske told inewsource one of the primary goals of the lawsuits is to provide medical monitoring for the people living and working on the plume who may have been exposed to TCE.

Last year, Ametek asked the court to hold the owners of the mobile home parks liable along with Ametek. The company said the owners knew about the contamination and never told the residents. The judge ruled against Ametek.
Ingrid Lobet / inewsource

Starlight Mobile Home Park – El Cajon TCE Contamination Updates

2016 Dec – This email follows up on our recent correspondence regarding soil contamination in El Cajon. We have finished investigating the presence of TCE in the area and, unfortunately, will not be pursuing the matter further.

If you recall, a class action lawsuit was filed in 2015 by another local law firm for teachers and students of Magnolia Elementary School exposed to contaminated soil gas. The development of that lawsuit will likely inform whether or not a similar claim can be made on behalf of the residents in the area. Given the pending litigation, we have decided not to pursue additional legal action at this time.

Please be aware that if you decide to pursue individual claims concerning the contamination, those claims are governed by a statute of limitations. This means that a person like yourself has a certain length of time to bring a lawsuit against the party that you believe is responsible for the harm you suffered. Statutes of limitations range among the different states and the causes of action you might wish to pursue. The statute of limitations can be as short as one year from injury, or even shorter if the government is a responsible party. They are also often halted, or stayed, when a class action is pending. Consequently, it is important that you promptly seek other legal counsel if you wish to pursue a legal claim.

Erin Brockovich to Investigate Toxic Plume in El Cajon

Thu, Nov 17, 2016 – Attorney Erin Brockovich will be investigating the allegations of a toxic plume of groundwater in an El Cajon neighborhood, according to a post on her Facebook page.

El Cajon residents say the plume is making the people living in the Starlight Mobile Home Park sick. The mobile home park sits above the plume.

‘We moved in November of last year, but we became so ill, summer gets worse.’ said Stephanie Jordan. ‘The hotter it gets, the more fumes you get.’ Until just a few months ago, Jordan had no idea she was living over a plume of toxic groundwater.

According to the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, the groundwater has been polluted with cancer-causing chemicals for decades and can emit toxins into the air above via toxic vapors.

Two of the toxic chemicals present in the vapors are Trichloroethylene, also known as TCE, and Tetrachloroethlene, known as PCE.
Emily Thode / KGTV San Diego

El Cajon Residents Pack Meeting on Toxic Plume

Thu, Nov 17, 2016 – State officials were just minutes into their presentation about an underground chemical plume in El Cajon when homeowners began raising questions: ‘Have you tested it?’ a voice came from the back. ‘How are we going to sell our homes?’ asked another.

Residents of the Starlight and Greenfield Mobile Homes Estates, along with other neighbors – some 60 in all – nearly filled a Magnolia Elementary School auditorium Wednesday evening.
Ingrid Lobet / inewsource

Mobile Homes in Starlight Mobile Home Park to be Tested

Mon, Oct 31, 2016 – Residents in an El Cajon neighborhood are just finding out their homes have been sitting above a shallow, toxic plume for more than half a century.

Even after all this time, no one knows whether trichloroethylene and other chemical vapors have seeped up from tainted groundwater and entered homes through cracks in concrete. There has been no testing.

Now that is changing. In the last few days some residents of the Starlight Mobile Home Park on East Bradley Avenue have received visits from state officials offering to test the air in their homes. The state will also test the air outside.

For Anne Beams, a former Department of Defense teacher who has lived at Starlight since the 1980s, the developments come as a surprise.

‘No one at the park ever brought it to our attention,’ she said. Until this week, she was unaware of the plume. It’s a legacy of a 20th century aerospace manufacturing plant that once operated several hundred feet away.

‘Doesn’t it sound as though they were very slow in making those of us in Starlight aware of what could be happening to us all these years?’ she said of state authorities.
Ingrid Lobet / inewsource

Toxic Plume in El Cajon Reaches Beneath Kort & Scott Mobile Homes

2016 Oct – On Thu, Oct 20, 2016, an article was published in inewsource regarding a toxic plume of TCE (Trichloroethylene) reaching beneath mobile homes. The article mentions a mobile home park in El Cajon, California but no specifics are provided.

The MHPHOA investigated further and it appears that two (2) Kort & Scott owned mobile home parks are affected; Starlight Mobile Home Park and Greenfield Mobile Home Estates. Both mobile home parks have mobile homes that are within the 1,000 μg/liter contour. No action and little testing have taken place there – until now. Here are some key snippets from the article…

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control issued a notification Thursday, October 6, 2016 after a contractor tested soil there and found TCE levels that left no doubt further testing should be done.

We collected data near the mobile homes along the property boundary and concentrations were detected at 5 feet below ground surface that are at level that may result in what we consider a significant risk to residents,” said Shahir Haddad, a supervising engineer for DTSC.

Several people at the mobile park said they’ve not been told that the plume runs under their homes. Most did not want to give their names.

Residents at the mobile park will be told of the testing results. The county water board is arranging a location and time, the agency’s Sean McClain said in an email.
Ingrid Lobet / inewsource

New Interactive Map of Toxic TCE Plume