They say it’s not over ’til the fat lady sings.
A motion for legal fees sought by the city of Holmes Beach has been denied.
In a May 28 telephonic hearing, 12th Circuit Court Judge Ed Nicholas denied the city’s motion for attorneys’ fees and costs filed against the owners of three vacation rental properties in Bert J. Harris Jr. Private Property Rights Act cases.
The city argued that the plaintiffs should pay the city’s fees — nearly $250,000 — to dissuade other claimants from bringing such claims against cities throughout the state.
In January, Nicholas granted a motion for summary judgment against the plaintiffs by the city.
However, according to Florida statutes, the governmental entity is entitled to costs and fees if it prevails in the action and the court determines that the property owner did not accept a bona fide settlement offer.
Nicholas said the city did not provide the plaintiffs with such an offer.
The judge said the statute required that additional step and he did not see evidence the city engaged in a settlement attempt.
“This, clearly, is a big risk of public funds and effort when, at no cost to the city, it could have acted in good faith. And, as stated by the judge, given a bona fide settlement offer and attempted to settle by, among other lesser things, permanently grandfathering in these homes when the claims were made,” Louis Najmy, a principle with the Najmy Thompson firm in Bradenton, representing the plaintiffs, said May 29. “The judge determined the city failed to even attempt to do this.”
The Bert Harris suits were prompted when the city changed its ordinance to limit the number of occupants and informed the owners that they must comply with the new regulations.
The owners, properties and their complaints are:
- AMI Breeze, 209 54th St., reduction of 20 to 16 occupants.
- Coral Escape of Holmes Beach, 132 50th St., reduction of 14 to 12 occupants.
- Mojito Splash, 304 65th St., reduction of 12 to 10 occupants.