By Daniel L. Bamberg
Daniel@Centrevillepress.com
A Greenpond family who were formerly residents of Shady Oaks Estates has sought legal action against Highfield Properties owner Richard “Rickie” Shaw. Tuscaloosa attorney Bret Smith has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Fenn’s.
While currently there is no detailed legal information of what will be sought, this is the first of what may be a series of lawsuits to come against the Trussville native.
Shaw and his company Highfield Properties LLC are the owners of Shady Oaks Estates, a trailer park just off of Highway 5 in West Blocton. Recently Shaw’s ethics as a property owner have come under question by several residents of the area, and even some local media and government entities.
Following a morning where the entire park lost water due to an unpaid bill, residents of Shady Oaks approached the press with a complaint. Upon investigation it was revealed that each family is responsible for paying a $35 monthly fee to the Shady Oaks Office for water service. It is the responsibility of the owner, Ricky Shaw to pay the bill to the city of Greenpond in order to service the park. When the water was shut off in late November, Shaw owed water nearly $7,000.
During an investigation the press was able to visibly confirm apparent violations of tenant’s rights according to Alabama law. Some residents were without heat, hot water, or proper plumbing. Some places were dealing with a hard to control roach problem. Most trailers had an even harder to control black mould problem. In several spots throughout the area raw sewage was depositing itself onto the surface due to unattended septic problems. Shady Oaks had been undeniably neglected.
In a very brief initial discussion with Ricky Shaw he explained that many residents were behind on their rent, and that several had not paid their portion of the water bill. Immediate investigation into these facts proved an inaccuracy in Shaw’s claims. Less than five of the twenty plus residents were behind on their rent, and only one of those behind approached the press in the beginning. Most of those who did approach the press initially were also able to provide receipts proving that they had given money to the property manager for water service.
While this investigation was being conducted Michael and Tabitha Fenn were already in the process of filing a lawsuit against Shaw. The Fenn’s were displaced to Alabama during Hurricane Katrina and eventually came to find affordable housing at Shady Oaks Estates. The series of events, which occurred during the Fenn’s stay, is hard for many to imagine. It is something some public officials have claimed “should never happen in this county, this state, or this country.”
“We were treated less than human. Nobody should have to live in what we lived in. It was the worst possible living condition you could imagine,” said Michael. By the time the Fenn’s had discovered how bad the conditions in Shady Oaks were, someone had already contacted the Departed of Human Resources, who forcibly helped the Fenn’s to relocate.
One of the guidelines in the DHR Individualized Service Plan for the Fenn’s urges “Mr. and Mrs. Fenn will move from their residence at Shady Oaks Estates due to the cockroach infestation that is diminishing the sanitation in the home and posing as a potential safety threat.“ Had this guideline not been followed the Fenn’s could have lost their daughter Briana.
Briana’s skin had been damaged with roach bites. These scars are visible to this day, several months after the Fenn’s left Shady Oaks. As unusual as a roach bite seems, it is actually common with German Cockroaches, which an exterminator on the property confirmed them to be. German Cockroaches are also notoriously hard to rid. When asked how to guarantee a complete extermination of these particular pests the exterminator replied, “Burn the place down.”
According to the Fenn’s roaches were not visible until a few weeks after moving in. Tabitha’s personal theory is that an exterminator must have come just before they moved in. By the time these roaches did show up they nearly flooded the place. The infestation grew large quickly and damaged several items belonging to the Fenns. “They were in the refrigerator, the microwave, the television, the light fixtures, my stereo speakers, in everything we owned,” said Michael. When we ate we had to take it out of the sealed container and eat it immediately if you sat your food down for a second you had no choice but to throw it away. The Fenn’s captured video evidence of the roaches. If a cabinet door was opened they poured out like spices from an opened shaker. Black mold also consumed the Fenn’s trailer. Several portions of the woodwork appear solid to the eye, but touch reveals rottenness. “It was bad enough that the my husband and I were living in this, but our kids were in this. Who cares so little about children to let them live in such a mess,” Tabitha expressed, almost crying.
“I have lived in or around Detroit my whole life. When I came down to help them move out of that place I couldn’t get out of my car. I didn’t even want to touch my grandchildren. The conditions of that place are by far worse than those in the Detroit and you probably won’t hear someone say a home is worse than the Detroit ghettos again in your lifetime," said Michael’s father, who refused to let his name be printed. He is a former law enforcement officer who served in Detroit, Michigan. Detriot’s slum conditions are nationally notorious for being among the worst in America.
There are further aspects to the Fenn’s case, which will be revealed as the lawsuit reaches a greater maturity. Of the many aspects of this slumlord situation, Tabitha’s might be the most gut wretching of them all when she summed up their entire journey to this point. “We survived that mess during Katrina. That complete collapse of human character in our politicians was practically nothing compared to what we went through with Rickie Shaw and that trailer park. I am not sure which situation was worse for us. Imagine that the biggest natural disaster in recent American history and the corruption which came with it almost equals in terms of horrific experiences to that of some Bibb County land lord,” concluded Tabitha.
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