A discovery extension sought by the plaintiffs was granted July 8 for six Holmes Beach Bert Harris cases.
Represented by attorney Sean Powers of the Najmy Thompson law office in Bradenton, the plaintiffs, including developer Shawn Kaleta, filed a motion May 18 requesting an extension of time to produce discovery.
Discovery is the process by which each party can obtain evidence from the other party or parties through devices such as interrogatories and documents.
The lawsuits allege changes to the city’s vacation rental regulations, specifically occupancy, impacted the owners’ property rights.
The motion stated the city’s counsel in April agreed to an indefinite extension for the responses.
During a July 8 telephonic hearing, attorney Randy Mora with the Trask Daigneault law firm in Clearwater, representing Holmes Beach, said the city granted the plaintiffs a 60-day extension in January. Then, following another extension request, emailed the plaintiffs they could “take as much time as necessary” due to the novel coronavirus, but determined May 8 that sufficient time had elapsed and sent a letter notifying the plaintiffs that discovery was due.
Twelfth Circuit Judge Charles Sniffen said he agreed with Mora that the city did not mean the plaintiffs could take “forevermore” to submit the discovery, but admitted he has not yet ruled on several private property rights cases that could have bearing on the discovery for the lawsuits.
A ruling on a similar set of cases, heard in November 2019 by Sniffen and also filed against Holmes Beach claiming violations of the Bert Harris Act due to occupancy limits, is forthcoming.
Sniffen granted the plaintiffs an additional 30 days to complete discovery, stipulating an Aug. 10 deadline.