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KXO News Local News Holtville - ACLU Steps in to Assist Mobile Home Owners
KXO News Local News Holtville - ACLU Steps in to Assist Mobile Home Owners Todays is : Friday, 09 January 2009
| Holtville - ACLU Steps in to Assist Mobile Home Owners |
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| Written by KXO Night Desk | |
| Wednesday, 05 September 2007 | |
 More than fifty families in Imperial County were notified in mid-August that their trailer homes were condemned. Home owners at Browning Trailer Park and Trailer Mecca in Holtville were informed that they had 30 days to vacate their trailers or appeal the county's decision, but many owners said they couldn't afford to pay rent and the hefty appeals fee.In a strongly worded demand letter sent to the County Counsel of Imperial County, the ACLU today requested that the county waive all filing fees for any owners unable to pay to appeal the mass condemnation. The ACLU has serious concerns that the county is violating the owners' due process rights by refusing to waive filing fees. Home owners were given 30 days to vacate their mobile homes after the county declared all of them unsafe. The county said that conditions were so serious that the mobile homes "must be abated by demolition." Newspaper reports indicate that inspectors found issues at each home site, including exposed gas lines, "hazardous electrical wiring," and broken windows. In press accounts, home owners--some of whom have lived there for more than twenty years--said they could fix most of the issues raised by inspectors, but they needed time. To appeal the condemnation notice, home owners would have to pay a $400 filing fee. The ACLU challenged a county official's assertion that this filing fee cannot be waived under any circumstances." The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not permit the county to deprive anyone of life, liberty, or property without notice and meaningful opportunity for hearing. When fundamental rights are at stake, our demand letter asserted, due process requires the government to waive filing fees or costs that would otherwise bar someone unable to pay them from obtaining a hearing. The ACLU argues that it is settled law that an indigent civil litigant has the right to proceed in a legal matter such as this one based on the constitutional principle of due process. The ACLU hopes that the county will back down on the fee waiver. |
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