With no fanfare or resistance, the Seminole Tribe complied with a federal judge’s deadline on Monday and returned a disputed Hollywood mobile home community on tribal land to its former management company.

It was an unusual retreat for the fiercely independent tribe, which has had a disconcerting habit of invoking its status as a “sovereign nation” to escape business deals it doesn’t like.

After a quick handoff meeting at tribal headquarters, representatives of Hollywood Mobile Estates were back in the property office by noon, nearly three years after being forcibly removed by armed tribal police.

“Everything went very smoothly,” said Dan Adkins, an executive with Hartman & Tyner, a Michigan company that co-owns Hollywood Mobile Estates and also owns the Mardi Gras Casino in Hallandale Beach. “The tribe was very cooperative.”

On July 1, U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas ordered the tribe to turn over “physical and financial control” of the mobile home park after finding the Seminoles’ overstepped their authority in evicting the previous managers and invalidating a long-term lease that runs through 2024.

Adkins said it might be the first time the tribe lost a legal case in a contract dispute after asserting its sovereign status.

“The tribe has complied with the order of Judge Dimitrouleas while it pursues appropriate legal appeals,” Seminole Tribe spokesman Gary Bitner said Monday.

The management change means some peace of mind for nearly 2,000 residents in the 55-and-over community. As long as Hollywood Mobile Estates controls the land, it must remain a mobile home park.

But there’s a chance the tribe could buy out the lease from Hollywood Mobile Estates. The 130 acres, just west of State Road 7 and south of Stirling Road near the Seminole Classic Casino, comprises some 25 percent of the Seminoles’ Hollywood reservation.

“Glad you’re back,” Nancy Gallagher, president of the park’s homeowner’s association, said to Adkins and General Manager Gary Griglak when they emerged from the property office.

Although Adkins tried to reassure residents that the mobile home park would be there long-term, and his partners said they are businessmen and would be open to a negotiated buyout.

About a decade ago, the Seminoles razed another mobile home community to build their hugely successful Hard Rock Casino and Resort.

This week’s events were a far cry from the strong-armed tactics of July 2008, when the tribe sent in dozens of cops to seize Hollywood Mobile Estates. Griglak said he felt like a hostage that day, held against his will in his office for nearly four hours.

“I couldn’t use my cellular phone, I had to ask permission to use the restroom,” Griglak recalled.

On Monday, Griglak greeted residents, took a quick tour of the property, and had a friendly talk with a couple of tribal cops.

It’s unclear why the tribe, which calls itself “The Unconquered” and doesn’t have to comply with all state and federal laws, decided to go along with the Fort Lauderdale-based judge’s order. The Seminoles recently had an overhaul in their elected leadership, with former tribal chairman James Billie returned to the top post.

“I think (the eviction) was such an egregious act, they had to go along with the judge,” said Spencer Partrich, a partner in Hollywood Mobile Estates and co-owner of Lautrec Ltd., which operates 40 mobile home communities nationally.

The U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs twice ruled against the Seminoles in the contract dispute, saying the tribe failed to give proper notice and time for the former management company to fix alleged lease violations.

The transfer was finalized at a morning meeting with the tribe’s attorney and real estate officials. No tribal council members were in attendance, Adkins said.

Terms of the former lease, which gave the Seminoles 15 percent of the mobile home park revenues, are now back in place. The mobile home park was built in 1969 and taken over by Hollywood Mobile Estates in 1986, with approval by the federal government.

Adkins estimates the former partners lost $7-9 million in rental revenues over the last three years, and spent nearly $1 million on legal fees.

Mobile home park residents own their units, but pay monthly rent for the land and trash service.

Adkins said the park would revert to its original name, Hollywood Mobile Estates. For the last three years, it has been known as Seminole Estates.

“The Seminoles thought they could just run us over, but they didn’t,” said Mickey Shapiro, a partner in Hollywood Mobile Estates. “We’re ecstatic.”

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