It has nothing to do with COVID19.

This suit is about “radiation contamination,” says Mark Lanier, founder of the Lanier Law Firm.

The press release to MHProNews touts that “The National Law Journal,” named “Lanier Law” as an “Elite Trial Law Firm.”

Lanier has offices in Houston, New York, Los Angeles and Oklahoma City, but the suit was filed in Polk County, FL in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Cause No. 8:20-cv-01045.

That release and a video report by regional news media sheds light on another controversy to roil Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) National Community Council (NCC) member Yes! Communities.

That will be our featured focus this evening.

 

Quotes That Shed Light…

 

 

 

 

 

Headlines from left-of-center CNN Business

• A dangerous war of words
• WUHAN, CHINA – MAY 03:（CHINA OUT）A man wear a mask while uses iPhone sit nearby Han River on During the Five-day May Day holiday on May 03, 2020 in Wuhan, China. The government started lifting outbound travel restrictions on April 8 from Wednesday after almost 11 weeks of lockdown to stem the spread of COVID-19.
• China is trying to use its global media machine to sow confusion around the pandemic
• America’s retail sales completely collapsed in April
• JCPenney buys itself a little more time
• Analysis: These parts of Trump’s economic wish list are downright bizarre
• It’s not just Amazon: Why the pandemic will make Aldi and Dollar General more dominant
• Wall Street still loves Elon Musk and Tesla. Here’s why
• France piles pressure on Sanofi over coronavirus vaccine plans
• Taiwan chip maker’s $12 billion Arizona factory could give the US an edge
• Amazon files lawsuit over ‘widespread tech support fraud’
• Ray Dalio: We must reform capitalism, not abandon it
• Facebook is buying popular GIF platform Giphy
• The pandemic got journalists out of New York and DC. That could be good news for you
• Retirement-disrupting startup raises $51M
• Chef José Andrés in Haiti in 2010.
• Why José Andrés keeps showing up at disaster zones
• LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 29: Caesars palace hotel on May 29, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada,USA. Caesars palace is a luxurious hotel famous with its fountains and shops
• Preparing the palace: How an iconic Las Vegas casino plans to conquer Covid-19
• NextVR executive chairman Brad Allen watches the Golden State Warriors season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans during a demonstration of NextVR’s virtual reality technology at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. Using the virtual reality glasses, fans could see the action in 360 degrees in real time.
• Apple just gave the world a glimpse at its future
• MARKETS
• THE FUTURE OF WORK
• Welcome to your new, post-pandemic office
• Opinion: Here’s what the future of work will look like
• How to find a job in a pandemic
• The dark side of working from home: loneliness
• WFH burnout is real. How to avoid it.
• SURVIVING WITHOUT LIVE SPORTS
• Bristol, CT – May 21, 2018 – Studio X: Scott Van Pelt on the set of SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt
• (Photo by Allen Kee / ESPN Images)
• What it’s like to host ESPN’s SportsCenter without sports
• How DraftKings is surviving without live sports
• Virtual NFL Draft nabs record viewership
• ‘The Last Dance’ scores viewership records for ESPN
• The NBA has a new CEO in China

Headlines from right-of-center Fox Business

• THAT’LL BE $10 TRILLION
• CORONAVIRUS
• China should pay for coronavirus: Peter Navarro
• White House trade adviser Peter Navarro says China should pay compensatory damages for the coronavirus and a bipartisan effort is needed to make that happen.
• Leading US health expert: Large-scale virus vaccine tests could start in July
• HHS secretary: Private sector, gov. must work together to develop virus vaccine
• MONEY
• US companies are discovering dark side of coronavirus business boom
• REAL ESTATE
• New York exodus: Virus prompts residents in richest parts of Manhattan to flee
• MARKETS
• Stocks post worst weekly performance since March
• Office Depot closing stores, laying off 13,000 workers
• United says flights down 90%, cuts routes and worker hours
• Will you get a second coronavirus stimulus payment? What we know now
• OPINION
• Peter Navarro: The Trump administration just handed Americans a major victory
• RICH, BUT NOT RICH ENOUGH
• REAL ESTATE
• Wealthy NYers priced out of vacation hot spot amid ‘panic renting’ surge
• UNION BLUES
• SPACE BUSINESS
• Teamsters slam Elon Musk’s $655K gov funding request, hope to block it
• PRICED OUT OF PRODUCE?
• NEWS
• Grocery bills may spike as supply chains strained, Wegmans warns
• MADE IN AMERICA
• TECHNOLOGY
• Intel building products in America proves a godsend amid coronavirus
• TEXAS TENSIONS
• NEWS
• Citizens at odds as governor prepares to lift more restrictions
• ‘OPERATION WARP SPEED’
• MARKETS
• Trump launches WWII-level public and private charge for coronavirus vaccine
• HONK FOR TRUMP
• VIDEO
• WATCH: President thanks truckers for ‘sign of love’ during press conference
• STILL WAITING
• MONEY
• Out-of-work American haven’t seen aid as states struggle to process claims
• LOOKING BRIGHTER
• NEWS
• Governor announces when New York beaches will reopen
• A HOUSE DIVIDED
• NEWS
• Michigan green lights court battle over Governor’s stay-at-home orders
• *GIF REACT*
• FACEBOOK
• Facebook buys Giphy for $400M
• LUCKY PENNEY
• MARKETS
• C. Penney makes last-minute move to avoid bankruptcy
• LIFESTYLE
• Keith Urban hosts drive-in concert for medical workers
• MONEY
• Kudlow: ‘Maybe’ US should cut this tax rate for certain companies
• LIFESTYLE
• Drive-in movie theaters reopen as coronavirus restrictions ease
• MARKETS
• Ivanka Trump to launch $3B coronavirus farmers aid with USDA secretary in Maryland
• LIFESTYLE
• ICU nurse gives coronavirus patients hope with personalized teddy bears
• BUSINESS LEADERS
• Biggest US beef producer says slowdown not easing ‘anytime soon’
• MONEY
• 3 essential money moves to make when you return to work
• ECONOMY
• Retail sales plunge a record 16.4% in April as coronavirus freezes economy
• SOCIAL MEDIA
• This state has most reports of virus symptoms, according to Facebook
• HEALTH
• Far fewer Americans are following social distancing guidelines now: poll
• NEWS
• Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort sends notice to members about reopening
• HEALTH
• ‘Worst I have seen’: Orlando is reopening, but persuading tourists to return is hard
• OPINION
• 100 days to Republican National Convention: Medical experts take center stage
• TRAVEL
• Carnival cuts 820 jobs as coronavirus crisis batters cruise industry
• VIDEO
• Home Depot co-founder: Don’t understand why China hid coronavirus
• SPORTS
• MLB chief responds to whether he believes summer games will be played
• MARKETS
• Wilbur Ross: Taiwan Semiconductor hopes to bring supply chain to this state
• ECONOMY
• US consumer sentiment inches higher following coronavirus stimulus checks
• TECH
• ‘Boring’ gets interesting: Elon Musk company finishes underground tunnels in Las Vegas
• FEATURES
• The milkman is back: Covid lockdowns rekindle demand for dairy delivery
• TRAVEL
• Delta to have 7,000 more pilots than it needs this fall
• ECONOMY
• Industrial production plunges unprecedented 11.2% in April

10 Market Indicator Closing Summaries – Yahoo Finance Closing Tickers on MHProNews…

Featured Focus – Where Business, Politics and Investing Can Meet

The following press release is from the law firms that are involved in the headline litigation.

 

LAKELAND, Fla. – Homeowners in two central Florida neighborhoods built atop abandoned phosphate mines have filed a federal lawsuit against The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS), charging that the Minnesota-based company, as well as two real estate developers who are also defendants, failed to warn residents about widespread contamination in neighborhoods that were developed over reclaimed strip mines.

According to the lawsuit filed May 5, 2020, by The Lanier Law Firm and its co-counsel, Mosaic and two real estate developers did not disclose the presence of dangerous radiation contamination in and around the Angler’s Green and Paradise Lakes neighborhoods, which has exposed residents to gamma radiation levels many times the amount considered safe for humans.

“Mosaic was well-aware of the radiation contamination that its strip mining had caused,” said trial lawyer Mark Lanier, founder of The Lanier Law Firm. “They took all of the phosphate they could from these strip mines, then cut corners on their promise to remediate this land. It is time for this company to take responsibility.”

The lawsuit demands that Mosaic and the other defendants properly remediate the contaminated land and establish a medical monitoring fund so that residents can obtain annual screenings for medical conditions associated with exposure to gamma radiation and radon gas, both byproducts of the mining process.

A similar lawsuit filed in 2017 against mining company Drummond on behalf of residents in the Oakbridge and Grasslands neighborhoods has withstood multiple legal challenges from Drummond and is currently in the discovery phase.

The process of mining phosphate disturbs and releases naturally occurring uranium and radium-226, which produce gamma radiation and radon. Gamma rays can penetrate the body and increase the risk of a variety of cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma and bone cancer. Decaying uranium also releases radon, an odorless, radioactive gas that is linked to lung cancer.

In addition to Mosaic, the lawsuit names developers Yes Companies WFC LLC and CHC VI Ltd. as defendants. The case is Christine Cruz and Steve Foster et al. v. The Mosaic Company et al., filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Cause No. 8:20-cv-01045. In addition to the Lanier Law Firm team, the plaintiffs are represented by local counsel at Nidel & Nace, PLLC.

For more information about the issues facing these communities, visit: https://www.lanierlawfirm.com/legal-practice-areas/florida-phosphate-contamination/

About Nidel & Nace

Nidel & Nace combines top-tier science and litigation skills in the pursuit of justice on behalf of people injured by chemical and environmental exposures across the country.  Chris Nidel, the firm’s founder, holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from M.I.T., and attended law school after seeing the environmental and human health abuses during his time working in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry.  To learn more about Nidel & Nace, please visit http://www.nidellaw.com

About the Lanier Law Firm

For more than 30 years, the men and women at the Lanier Law Firm have worked tirelessly, throughout the United States, to find unique and effective solutions for their clients. More than 60 skilled attorneys practice law in a broad array of areas, including business litigation, pharmaceutical litigation, asbestos exposure, oil and gas litigation, personal injury, and defective and dangerous products, among others. Named an Elite Trial Law Firm by The National Law Journal, the Lanier Law Firm has offices in Houston, New York, Los Angeles and Oklahoma City. To learn more about Mark Lanier and the Lanier Law Firm, visit http://www.lanierlawfirm.com.

##

 

Online searches revealed some additional information.

• Chc VI, Ltd. lists three other companies as an officer in their company. It is not uncommon for one company to hold a position in another company.
• Century Properties Mhp, LLC Overview
• Century Properties Mhp, LLC filed as a Florida Limited Liability in the State of Florida on Thursday, November 4, 2010 and is approximately ten years old, as recorded in documents filed with Florida Department of State.

According to WFLA News Channel 8, the following.

 

“After polluting the land and inadequately remediating the land, Mosaic sold the land…with no disclosure of the hazardous nature and that it was unfit for residential use,” the complaint reads.

In the complaint, WFLA said that attorneys for Paradise Lakes resident Christine Cruz and Angler’s Green resident Steven Foster argue the level of radiation families are exposed to is akin to receiving a chest x-ray once a week.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about how my kids are exposed to this,” Cruz said, speaking to 8 On Your Side exclusively prior to the lawsuit’s filing.

Cruz and her family reportedly moved into Paradise Lakes from out of state in 2006 and said she was never informed of what the land previously was. An old neighbor eventually told them it was once a phosphate mine, but the potential health risks were never addressed.

“We had no idea what we were moving in to,” Cruz said.

Cruz saw an 8 On Your Side report years later about a similar situation in Lakeland where thousands of homes were built on potentially-contaminated land from a reclaimed phosphate mine. Curious if her manufactured home community could be in danger, she contacted the attorneys in the Lakeland case.

Cruz acquired a meter to measure the levels inside her home and said that the radiation registered at three times what’s considered safe under state and national guidelines.

WFLA said that with proper remediation, radioactive materials used in phosphate mining can remain in soil and groundwater for thousands of years. But without remediation, exposure to that leftover material, such as gamma radiation, is scientifically proven to damage organs and cause cancer, even in low doses.

“The concrete slabs these homes are on are not even remotely enough to shield from this radiation,” according to Mark Lanier, one of the lawyers on the case. “These people are in radioactive land all the time!”

It doesn’t take much to imagine how this news impacts resale values at these two properties, not to mention the fear and frustration it causes residents.

Yes! Communities are an MHI/NCC member and are one of the firms that the Private Equity Research project from MHAction and others has named in their widely publicized complaints.

Yes! has significant ties to Clayton Homes and other Berkshire Hathaway owned brands. See related and other recent reports below.

Related Reports:

Manufactured Housing Industry Investments Connected Closing Equities Tickers
Some of these firms invest in manufactured housing, or are otherwise connected, but may do other forms of investing or business activities too.

• • • • • • • NOTE: The chart below includes the Canadian stock, ECN, which purchased Triad Financial Services, a manufactured home industry lender
            • NOTE: Drew changed its name and trading symbol at the end of 2016 to Lippert (LCII).

Spring 2020…
Berkshire Hathaway is the parent company to Clayton Homes, 21^st Mortgage, Vanderbilt Mortgage and other factory built housing industry suppliers.
· LCI Industries, Patrick, UFPI, and LP each are suppliers to the manufactured housing industry, among others.
· AMG, CG, and TAVFX have investments in manufactured housing related businesses. For insights from third-parties and clients about our publisher, click here.
Enjoy these ‘blast from the past’ comments.
MHProNews. MHProNews – previously a.k.a. MHMSM.com – has celebrated our tenth anniversary and is in year 11 of publishing.

Learn more about our evolutionary journey as the industry’s leading trade media, at the report linked below.

· For expert manufactured housing business development or other professional services, click here.
· To sign up in seconds for our industry leading emailed headline news updates, click here.

Disclosure. MHProNews holds no positions in the stocks in this report.https://www.manufacturedhomepronews.com/2019-year-end-totals-reveals-decline-in-new-hud-code-manufactured-home-production-shipments/

That’s a wrap on this installment of “News Through the Lens of Manufactured Homes and Factory-Built Housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, stock, investing, data, metrics, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)

By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHLivingNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing. For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com. This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position, and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
http://latonykovach.com Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
AEI Flash Housing Market Indicators