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DU Law Students Trying To Help Evicted Mobile Home Park Residents

FORT MORGAN, Colo. (CBS4)- Law students from the University of Denver are trying to help 28 residents facing eviction from their Fort Morgan mobile home park.

In court documents filed Tuesday by the DU students, residents at Wayward Wind Mobile Home Park claim the owners are trying to evict them to avoid fixing problems with drinking water at the park.

"They said it was no longer feasible to keep running this as a trailer park," said resident Regina Bates.

Bates has lived in the Wayward Wind Mobile Home Park for 24 years.

"It hasn't looked like this forever," said Bates. "It's heartbreaking. A lot of families lived here. Everyone has their story."

In documents filed in Larimer County District Court, residents allege water from their tap is contaminated and they've been forced to rely on bottled water or jugs filled at a nearby gas station.

Not fixing the problem violates the Colorado Mobile Home Park Act, according to the documents.

Eviction notices were posted in the middle of the night. After people started to leave vandals ransacked, raided and burned much of the mobile home park.

An open septic tank boils raw sewage just 30 feet from an occupied home. The odor is detectable throughout the neighborhood.

Residents claim the smell comes through their water lines. They're told not to drink or cook with it. Some even have resorted to wearing goggles in the shower.

The owners of Wayward Wind Mobile Home Park, Andrew Klein and Otis Moore, are being sued by creditors for the foreclosure.

DU law students have filed suit against the pair for abandoning the property. The suit claims the owners wanted the property to go into foreclosure instead of fixing the problems.

"It seems like in response to the sanctions they just decided, 'We'll close the park.' Their solution was to close and not think of the people living there," said DU law student Jenni Barnes.

Many of the residents couldn't afford to be evicted. They abandoned their homes and everything inside, turning them into a target for vandals.

Bates had to borrow $4,000 from family to move the day after Thanksgiving.

A few residents remain at the mobile home park. They must vacate by Dec. 13.

The owners of the Wayward Wind Mobile Home Park did not return requests for comment on this story.

The Morgan County Commission said they have waived moving fees for some of the mobile home owners.

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