.png)
Fired Switzer Village manager sued by mother for $7M+ in unpaid loans, theft of mobile home park assets
Longtime manager and her husband accused by park’s majority owner of diverting park funds and materials to couple’s construction company; couple’s attorney calls matter ‘a family dispute’
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
A longtime manager at Switzer Village Mobile Home Park and her husband are accused of diverting large amounts of money and other assets to their construction company, and also failing to repay $7 million in loans, according to a lawsuit filed last week by the manager’s mother, who is the majority owner of the park.
Josette Duran was fired in June after overseeing operations at the mobile home park since 2011, according to the lawsuit by S & S Development LLC and Marlene Schneider, who owns 80% of the company that owns the park. Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are Marciano Duran and the couple’s company Duran Construction Company LLC.
"Entrusted with the management of S&S's property and operations, Josette instead treated the Park as a source of money, labor, materials, and assets for Duran Construction and for members of her family," the lawsuit alleges. "Among other things, Josette purported to sell multiple Park-owned mobile homes to Duran Construction without authority and without payment to S&S; used Park funds, credit, fuel, and work crews to benefit Duran Construction projects; paid herself far more than her agreed compensation; and, on the transition of management, withheld titles, records, keys, and other Park property."
Josette Duran also failed to pay water and sewer bills, "bringing the Park within approximately 48 hours of a utility shutoff affecting 289 families and spaces in February 2026," was delinquent in tax payments and "allowed
the Park to fall into severe physical disrepair," according to the lawsuit.
"Josette knowingly undertook these actions despite S&S being a family business, the ongoing concern of which is of great significance to her siblings and mother," the lawsuit states.
Separately, more than $7 million in loans provided to the defendants since the early 1990s remains unpaid, Schneider and her company allege in the lawsuit.
Brandon C. Marx, an attorney representing the defendants, stated in an email to the Juneau Independent on Tuesday morning the couple had not yet seen the lawsuit and thus was not able to respond to its specific allegations, but they "deny any wrongdoing."
"This matter is, at bottom, a family dispute," Marx wrote. He noted that the remaining 20% of S&S Development is owned by Schneider Family LLC, which is "comprised of Josette and her four siblings."
No further response to follow-up inquiries by the Independent had been received as of midday Thursday. Attempts by the Independent to contact Schneider and her attorney of record in the lawsuit were unsuccessful.
No hearings were scheduled in the lawsuit as of Thursday, according to the Alaska Court System’s online database.
Switzer Village Mobile Home Park opened in 1970 with 190 units and by 2018 has expanded to more than 300 units on 40 acres, according to a City and Borough of Juneau planning document for the Lemon Creek area. The lawsuit notes Charles Schneider — Josette Duran’s father — was the founder and principal owner of S&S Development until his death in 2011, after which his daughter managed the mobile home park.
"Josette's agreed-upon compensation as manager was a salary equal to 8 percent of the Park's gross income," the lawsuit notes, adding "it appears that Josette paid herself compensation well above the agreed-
upon percent of gross income." After she was fired in June of this year due to what the lawsuit called increasing concerns about her lack of transparency, other issues came to light.
A partial list of those accusations includes using park funds for her construction company’s expenses and paying the company for work at the mobile home park that was not performed, and illegally transferring some of the mobile home properties in the park to the construction company, according to the lawsuit. Also, it alleges, "Josette used Park work crews for more than twenty hours per week on Duran Construction jobs, paying those crews with Park funds, and used the Park's account to purchase diesel fuel for Duran-owned fuel tanks from 2012 through 2026."
The lawsuit also alleges Josette Duran used park funds for her construction company’s legal expenses. Among Duran Construction’s legal disputes is a case filed by federal and state agencies for multiple violations of the Clean Water Act by dredging and dumping in several wetlands without permits. A settlement in that case was announced in August that could result in the company paying $350,000 and agreeing to perform much of the cleanup work at additional cost to the company.
The biggest monetary claim in the lawsuit involves numerous loans made to Josette Duran, her husband and their company by Marlene and Charlie Schneider beginning in the early 1990s.
"While Charlie was alive, the loans were generally secured by promissory notes, and the Durans made payments," the lawsuit states. "After Charlie's death in 2011, the borrowing increased, was largely made without securing documents, and the payments substantially decreased."
The lawsuit is seeking payment of more than $7 million that is still alleged owed, plus other damages.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
