Judge allows Little Havana mobile home residents to continue legal fight against evictions

Residents of a decades-old mobile home park in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood have cleared a significant legal hurdle in their effort to stop impending evictions after a judge denied a request by the property's owner to dismiss their case.

The ruling allows homeowners at Silver Court Mobile Home Park to continue challenging the planned closure of the community and seek to remain on the property beyond the Sept. 30 deadline outlined in eviction notices.

For residents like Joseph Madera, president of the Silver Court Homeowners Association, the decision brought a sense of relief.

"I was screaming. I was running to the park, 'Victory,'" Madera said after learning of the judge's ruling. "A weight was lifted off my shoulders. This would have stopped us in our tracks if the motion would have been granted."

Silver Court, a 65-year-old mobile home park located near Southwest Eighth Street and Southwest 32nd Avenue, has been at the center of a months-long dispute between homeowners and the California-based Marquis Property Company, which owns the land.

In March, residents were informed they would have six months to vacate the property. According to homeowners, the company offered financial incentives to encourage residents to leave voluntarily. Those who accepted the earliest offers received $10,000, while later offers were reduced to $2,500.

More than 30 homeowners chose to remain and challenge the park's closure in court.

Attorney Carrie Feit, who represents the homeowners, said Tuesday's ruling temporarily halts the eviction process while the property owner complies with Florida's Mobile Home Act.

"We put a pause in the eviction process until the park owner complies with the Mobile Home Act and the protections therein for mobile home owners," Feit said.

She argued that the property owner has not acted in good faith in its effort to close the park. According to Feit, Florida Statute 723 requires municipalities to determine whether suitable relocation sites are available for displaced mobile home residents before approving a park's closure.

"They must make a determination around available suitable facilities for relocation before they make any determination," Feit said.

Resident Alliet Leyva said the judge's decision gives homeowners an opportunity to present what they believe were serious problems with the eviction process.

"I am relieved that the motion to dismiss has been denied, because that gives us more time to explain a lot of the wrong things that were happening," Leyva said.

The number of families living at Silver Court has declined dramatically since eviction notices were first issued.

"On March 11, there were 204 trailers full of families, close to 1,000 people," Madera said. "Now there are 32 left. It's still a sufficient amount of trailers that you can form a community."

CBS News Miami contacted the law firm representing Marquis Property Company for comment. As of Tuesday night, the firm had not responded.