Developer Shawn Kaleta dropped a $3.125M bombshell on New Year’s Eve.
Attorney Michelle Grantham of the Bradenton-based Najmy Thompson law firm filed a lawsuit against Holmes Beach in federal court Dec. 31 on behalf of Kaleta, claiming the city has run a “black-ball campaign” against him, resulting in more than $3 million in damages and demanding a jury trial for injunctive relief.
The lawsuit was emailed to the mayor, commissioners and city clerk, allowing the holiday weekend to mull it over.
Kaleta owns a number of properties in the city, including Bali Hai Beachfront Resort, Coconuts Beach Resort, the Islands West Resort, 305 73rd St. and 102 48th St.
Blaming former Holmes Beach Commissioner Jean Peelen for beginning the animosity in 2012, the lawsuit claims that Kaleta “no longer feels that he can petition the city, outside of this judicial avenue, and achieve a fair and just result.”
The lawsuit, filed with the U.S. District Court of Tampa states, “Even with the multitude of property owners and/or developers doing business in the city and offering nightly short-term rentals, plaintiff alone has become the focus of the city’s attention. The attention that plaintiff has garnered from the city has created a hostile environment filled with animosity toward plaintiff.”
The lawsuit claims the city cultivated animosity toward Kaleta, “including making a concerted effort to establish an unofficial group, led by city commissioners, which singles-out plaintiff’s properties, watches those properties, and contacts the city’s code enforcement officials to report alleged code enforcement violations.”
The lawsuit alleges the city discriminated against Kaleta and set out to destroy his “business reputation and goodwill,” including:
- Stalling development plans at Bali Hai and prohibiting the business from operating a bar/lounge;
- Denying his attorneys’ access to a special magistrate hearing and failing to record it;
- Failing to respond to public records requests;
- “Arbitrarily and capriciously re-interpreting the city’s code to negatively affect” Kaleta, as well as “overly aggressively” filing and prosecuting code enforcement violations against his properties.
The lawsuit further states that the city’s actions resulted in Kaleta losing “business and profits,” customers, property value, as well as suffering “personal humiliation” and “mental anguish and suffering.”
The lawsuit claims $3,125,000 in damages as a result of the city’s actions.
Mayor Judy Titstworth responded by email to The Islander Jan. 3, stating, “We will continue to vigorously defend our codes and ordinances and we expect all residents and business owners to abide by them. I am sorry that Mr. Kaleta feels his civil rights have been violated.”
A court date had yet to be set for the case as of Jan. 2.
For the record
Commenting on behalf of Shawn Kaleta to The Islander by email on Jan. 2, Louis Najmy, principal in the Thompson Najmy law firm, said, “Regardless of perceived (non-violent) culpability of an individual, allowing for commissioners to personally attack an individual at a public hearing or otherwise, retracting prior written approved usage rights, locking out counsel from representing his or her clients in code hearings, failed prosecution based on insufficient evidence (as determined by a city’s own magistrate), targeting investigations solely at one individual based on personal dislike while failing to apply the same inquest on all others, and failing to respond to public records requests from that same individual are not actions any of us want any of our public governments to allow. Public entities cannot be permitted to be run like private homeowners associations in this regard. The hallmark of our democracy depends on ensuring actions and policies like this are eliminated no matter how small or tight-knit a city is.”
Click here for the document SHAWN THOMAS KALETA v CITY OF HOLMES BEACH