Top Plaintiffs' Verdict by Dollar: Aranda v. Terrace View Partners LP, $58 million

James C. Allen had 60 clients from 49 homes in a mobile home park in San Diego County who complained about abusive treatment from their landlord, including unreasonable rents and other illegal practices that caused many to lose their homes. "The judge didn't want so many in court, so he asked each side to pick five plaintiffs to streamline the trial, then use the result to talk and resolve the case for the others," Allen said.

With a big plaintiffs' win, the defense could have a powerful motive to settle the remaining cases, he added, though an appeal will come first. "They're sitting and looking at a $58 million verdict. I understand why they don't want to talk yet."

Allen used photographic evidence to demonstrate for jurors that the Terrace View park was different from others nearby. "I thought that was the most powerful thing, Every other park in the East County was full of tenants. This one has as many as 200 spaces either empty or abandoned. I asked, "What is going on there?' Some are complete eyesores. It is a desolate, empty place to live." He showed Google Earth pictures of 11 local mobile home parks. "Every space was filled at the others. You could see not an empty space. Ours was just dirt and vacant lots."

Then there was his clients' testimony. "They talked about how the owners jacked their rents up to as much as $1,800 a month, while other parks were charging $900. We argued the doctrine of unconscionability."

Cross-examining one of the owner-defendants, Allen said, "I got him to say, 'It's my park, and there's no rent control, so I can raise rents all I want.' I told him no, you have to be objectively reasonable."

But Allen knew he was breaking new ground, "That was the fight, over unconscionability," he said. "There's no case law on this in the mobile home park context. So we went to case law on contracts. If there's a vague term, you can void the contract. Terms have to be objectively reasonable, and I was just expanding that into the mobile home field."

One plaintiff couple was forced out of their mobile home and living in a church. "She was just bawling on the witness stand, and I could see tears in the jurors' eyes. The human suffering involved was enormous. When the jury came back with enormous compensatory damages, I said, 'Holy shit, they bought what we were saying. They're going to give us everything.'"

— John Roemer