Court Says Home Owners Association Must Pay
Anderson|Pinkard Clients
Over $187,000 In Pickup Truck Parking Dispute
Clearwater, Florida (July 27, 2010) – A Tampa Bay
couple learned this week that a Hillsborough County Circuit Court Judge
awarded them attorneys’ fees and costs totaling over $187,000 in a lawsuit
filed against them by their homeowners association. The homeowners, A.J.
and Doree Vizzi, were sued by The Eagles Master Association which tried to
prevent them from parking their pickup truck in their driveway – something
they had done for 9 years before the lawsuit was filed.
Hillsborough County Circuit Court Judge Martha J. Cook ruled in favor of the
Vizzis in December, 2008, and the association appealed. The appeals court
also ruled in favor of the Vizzis in March of this year. In her most recent
ruling, Judge Cook said that the association will have to pay $187,443.37 in
attorneys’ fees and costs spent by the Vizzis in defending the lawsuit.
Attorney Daniel Anderson, of the law firm
Anderson | Pinkard, represented the Vizzi’s. He said the he and his law
firm spent over 700 hours defending the case, which “never should have been
filed in the first place.” Anderson said, “this case is a horror story
about what happens when a homeowners association decides to sue one of its
homeowners and then pursues the case to the bitter end.” “Fortunately, the
Vizzis had the resources to defend themselves, but many people do not,”
Anderson added. “We hope the Florida Legislature looks closely at this case
and puts limits in place to prevent this sort of thing from happening to
other homeowners in the future,” Anderson concluded.
Anderson said
he does not yet know whether the association will again appeal the ruling,
but that he hopes the association will “finally give up” and “leave the
Vizzis alone.” According to Anderson, the association will have incurred
over $300,000 in legal fees and costs after paying the Vizzis the amount
awarded by the Court. “The saddest part about all of this,” Anderson said,
“is that the other homeowners will wind up paying the bill.” Anderson said
the Vizzis regretted the impact on their neighbors, but had no choice in the
matter other than to “cave” to the demands of the association. “A.J. and
Doree Vizzi are my heroes,” Anderson said. “They remind
us all that it is possible to stand up for what we believe in, and win,” he
concluded.
Anderson | Pinkard
Opens New Facility in Clearwater
June 21, 2010 - Clearwater -
The Anderson |
Pinkard
law firm announced today the opening of its new state of the art facility at
the Feather Sound Corporate Center II in Clearwater, Florida. Daniel
Anderson, a partner with the firm, stated: "we felt that the timing was
right to take advantage of market conditions and secure an office space that
will meet the needs of our clients for many years to come." Anderson
said that the new facility includes the latest in telecommunications,
computer, data, and internet technology. "We wanted to be sure that
the confidential data we are maintaining for our clients is housed in a
secure location that is not susceptible to the severe weather conditions we
sometimes experience in Florida," added partner, Eric Pinkard. "We are
using the latest in 'cloud computing' technology that enables us to store
and transmit data more securely and cost effectively than if we were to
utilize traditional network storage devices," Pinkard said.
Anderson
and Pinkard said they believe that the shift to this new location will
enable them to provide a physical environment that is more conducive
to employee productivity and better represents the outstanding quality of
legal services offered to their clients than their previous location.
Anderson said the firm will be announcing an open house in the near future
so that A | P clients will have the
opportunity to see the new facility.
