Peabody mobile park owner sues rent board

PEABODY – A Peabody man who operates a local mobile home park is suing the city’s Rent Control Board after the board would not let him increase the cost of rent to cover the costs of removing in-ground oil tanks on the property.Paul Batakis, Inc., the corporation conducting business as Park Place Mobile Home Park, was first notified by the fire department in 2000 that its underground oil tanks would have to be removed and above-ground tanks would have to be installed. Batakis faced opposition from his tenants, mainly because of how much tank removal and installation would cost, and was only able to remove 17 of the 49 tanks. Seven of the in-ground tanks left oil contamination behind.According to the lawsuit, Batakis took out a personal loan from Danvers Savings Bank and extended money on his credit card to cover $92,000 in removal and decontamination costs.In the past, the Rent Control Board has allowed a dollar-for-dollar reimbursement for certain oil spill issues, usually at the recommendation of the board’s hearing officer, Roger Mervis. Mervis recommended such reimbursement for Batakis, but the board said at a hearing in January that Batakis should be responsible for half of the costs.”The board has ‘determined’ that the plaintiff should bear 50 percent of the expense associated with the remediation of the oil leakage from the tanks when it can be determined that it was the responsibility of the tenant who purchased the oil to remove it,” the suit said.But Mervis said at the hearing that there is no evidence that the tenant should have to pay for half of the removal costs. The bank has since told Batakis that he cannot use the contaminated property as collateral on any loans and other banks that know of the oil spillage would follow the same policy.In the suit, Batakis said the board issued what is “undoubtedly an arbitrary and capricious decision” and has abused its authority. The suit aims to reverse the decision, order that the maximum allowable rent is increased further, pay for the removal and clean-up costs near the underground tanks and reimburse any attorney fees.Batakis is also suing the Tenants Association of Park Place, Inc.