A lawsuit filed by the Pines Trailer Park homeowners association is heading toward a key hearing July 28, when 12th Judicial Circuit Judge Edward Nichols will consider a motion to dismiss the case.
The HOA on March 28 sued the park’s owner, Pines Park Investors LLC, overseen by developer Shawn Kaleta, alleging violations of Florida law after residents received a Jan. 24 eviction notice stating the closure of the park by July 31.
PPI purchased the park for $16.25 million in August 2023. The Pines is a land-lease community where mobile homes, owned by residents, sit on lots owned by a separate property owner, in this case, PPI. Homeowners pay monthly for a land-lease.
The HOA is seeking more than $50,000 in damages, along with a court order to stop the closure.
PPI attorneys challenged the suit, citing hurricane damage, delinquent lease payments and a possible zoning change as justification for evictions.
However, the lawsuit notes that the city authorized homeowners to make repairs following hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, undermining a PPI reason for closure.
The HOA also alleges PPI issued improper notices, neglected maintenance of common areas and failed to provide required residential parking.
The HOA also challenges a March 5 appraisal valuing the park at $16.6 million, which is far less than the $75 million sale price that PPI presented to homeowners. The HOA maintains the price was intended to prevent legitimate purchase.
Homeowners also have taken issue with a “right to purchase” agreement that allegedly waives their legal protections and say some people were pressured into surrendering homes based on misleading statements about the park’s future. For example, a mortgage clause cited in the lawsuit bars changes to zoning or land use until August 2028.
A hearing by a Zoom conference at 2:30 p.m. July 28 is set in PPI’s motion to dismiss the HOA’s claims. Such a motion is a formal request asking the judge to toss out the case or specific claims. The request is usually based on the argument that the complaint lacks legal grounds to proceed to trial. The Islander reached out to PPI attorney Shawn Arbeiter by email July 9 but as of press time July 14 there was no response.
Pines Park LLC representative Sam Negrin spoke to The Islander July 10 but declined comment.
Pines Park HOA board member Neil Lind also declined comment July 9.
About the Pines Trailer Park
The park, 103 Church Ave., Bradenton Beach, is a land-lease community established in the 1930s and situated on the shoreline of Sarasota Bay and just north of the Historic Bridge Street Pier.