MARSHALL — Witness testimony began Wednesday in the civil trial against the owners of the Broadmoor Valley mobile home park in Marshall. Before an afternoon break in the trial proceedings, members of the jury heard testimony from a resident of Broadmoor Valley and the environmental health manager of Southwest Health and Human Services, which conducts inspections of mobile home parks in an area including Lyon County.

In their testimony, Broadmoor Valley resident Debra Springer-Ertl and Jason Kloss of SWHHS both answered questions about the condition of infrastructure like the roads in the mobile home park. As part of Wednesday morning’s testimony, Springer-Ertl and the jury were shown photos Springer-Ertl took of puddles and bumps on the roads at Broadmoor Valley at different times within the past six years.

As part of his testimony Wednesday afternoon, Kloss also answered questions about standing water and deteriorating road surfaces at Broadmoor Valley. Those conditions were noted in inspection reports from 2018 and 2019.

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office sued Broadmoor Valley owners Schierholz and Associates and Paul Schierholz in 2021. The Attorney General’s Office alleged the owners failed to maintain Broadmoor Valley and its streets to state standards. The lawsuit also alleged the owners charged illegally high fees for late rent payments, and retaliated against residents of the park.