Suzanne Lawson and Jennifer Ludolph score a victory in lawsuit against mobile home park
March 8, 2013
3L Suzanne Lawson and 2L Jennifer Ludolph won a significant round in a Superior Court lawsuit over living conditions, brought by residents of Rancho Garcia Mobilehome Park in Riverside County. The suit by 34 current and former tenants contends that conditions at the park are unsafe and unhealthy because of inadequate wastewater treatment, frequent sewage backups and power outages, among other issues. Working with the Community and Economic Development Clinic, Lawson and Ludolph successfully opposed defendant Rancho Garcia’s motion to strike punitive and exemplary damages from the lawsuit and a move to dismiss the complaint by demurrer. At a Feb. 15 hearing in Riverside Superior Court, the students argued the case for their clients before Judge John G. Evans, who then ruled in their favor. Fellow UCI Law students Francisco Balderrama, Tiffany Full, Vithya Krishnakumar, Meg Tanaka and Jennifer Wong also worked on the briefs for the hearing.
