Storms recently brought down trees at River Valley Estates, the manufactured home community in Sullivan County that is the subject of a lawsuit brought by state Attorney General Letitia James against its owners, George and Gayla Sue Levin.
The suit alleges a variety of illegal and deceptive practices, including rent hikes, fees and general mismanagement of the property. Storms over the past two weeks brought down at least three trees, including one that fell on a home. No one was injured.
Residents had said for years that the large trees were a potential safety hazard. They say that management told tenants it was on them to cut down trees around their homes.
“He’s responsible for the property. All I do is own the house,” said River Valley resident Joe Ruffler. “I don’t own the property. It’s his trees. That’s what we pay maintenance for. Cut your trees down.”
In October 2025, a state judge ruled in favor of River Valley tenants, but a determination of what restitution is owed to them has yet to be reached. The AG’s office wants new damages from these downed trees to be included in the judge’s decision.
Christian Martinez, the attorney for River Valley’s owners, referred to his legal filings, which claim the owners left cutting the trees up to residents but would assist removing them from the property once they were down. Martinez’s filing states that one of the three trees were promptly removed and the tree that fell on the house remains because the owner sought to keep it there until their insurance company inspected it.
Ruffler says that cleanup did not happen soon enough.
“My wife was picked up by the ambulance shortly after the tree fell [that] morning,” he said. “The ambulance and two fly cars had to back up to get to my house to go in a different direction, which is pretty ridiculous. The manager never even roped off or coned off [the tree].”