OCALA - Larry Lierman isn't leaving his Pine Run home just yet.

Lierman, who's four months too young to qualify for Pine Run's "55 Plus" age requirement, had been given 10 days to leave his home at 10021 S.W. 93rd Court. But Lierman filed a request for a rehearing in the legal case against him, stopping Pine Run LLC from evicting him Thursday.

Robert Stermer, the lawyer representing Pine Run LLC, said Thursday the development won't do anything to throw Lierman out until he sees the documents Lierman filed in Circuit Court.

"I haven't seen the petition, so I don't know what it says," he said. "I don't think we're going to do anything until we see it." He declined to comment further.

Lierman is facing eviction from the community in which he has lived for nearly four years because he won't turn 55 until August. Lierman had lived in the development with his wife, Frances, since 2000. Frances Lierman died at age 62 in February.

Frances Lierman was living in a nursing home at the time of her death. Pine Run LLC, the organization that manages the development and enforces the deed restrictions started trying to evict Larry Lierman last summer when the couple tried to buy a house across the street from the rented one in which they had lived.

Pine Run's residents voted to make the community a "55 Plus" development in 2001, meaning at least 80 percent of the residents must be 55 or older. The deed restrictions also require at least one person in every household to be at least 55. Lierman said Thursday he's not moving until he has to.

"I'm staying in my house, and I'm not leaving until they file for an eviction and send a cop to come and get me," he said. "Hopefully, next week, I'll have a new hearing."

Friends of Lierman have started a petition drive to protest Pine Run's decision to uphold the letter of the development's deed restrictions.

"If he has to leave, he's going to go back in August, but I think that's just stupid," said Sharon Hall, who doesn't live in Pine Run. "It's just unfair . . . It's not right."

Lierman and his wife filed discrimination complaints with both federal and state authorities before Frances Lierman's death in February, alleging the development was discriminating against the couple because of Frances Lierman's medical disability. Both complaints are still pending.

Hall said Thursday she believes Pine Run LLC is trying to force Larry Lierman out in retaliation for the filing of those complaints.

"That's what I think it is," she said.
For now, Lierman's committed to staying where he is, saying he can't afford to move.

"I'm going to stick it out," he said. "I don't know what else to do. As it stands right now, I'm not leaving. I'm staying put."

OCALA - Larry Lierman thought he would stay in the Pine Run home he and his wife Frances wanted to buy last year.

After all, they had rented a residence across the street from the house they wanted to buy at 10021 S.W. 93rd Court for three years without any problems. Frances' emphysema made it likely it would be their last move.

"We figured this was going to be our last house together," Larry Lierman said. Sadly, the couple guessed right. Frances Lierman died in February.

Larry Lierman still doesn't want to move, but at this point he has little choice. The development wants him out because he's four months too young to live there.

Pine Run is a designated "55 Plus" community, with bylaws stating at least 80 percent of its residents must be age 55 or older to live there. Lierman won't turn 55 until August.

Neither Pine Run property manager James Day nor Robert Stermer, the lawyer representing the development, returned calls seeking comment Friday. But court documents filed in the case document the development's position.

Members of the community voted two years ago to become a "55 Plus" community, amending the development's deed restrictions to note that "No dwelling shall be occupied by any person unless at least one of the occupants is at least fifty-five (55) years of age or older."

Frances Lierman was 62 at the time of her death. But the development has been seeking to evict her husband since last July, arguing that Frances Lierman was living full-time in a nursing home, not in the residence.

In a letter to the Liermans dated Aug. 15, Stermer advised the couple "It is my client's understanding that Mrs. Lierman resides at Palm Garden of Ocala and is unlikely to return to the home. Therefore, you are not eligible to live in Pine Run Estates. Please take the necessary steps to vacate the premises immediately."

A letter from Palm Garden administrator Jennifer Mikula to property manager Day, written in July, indicated that Frances Lierman had been a patient at the skilled nursing facility for about two years. But Mikula's letter also noted that Frances Lierman "(was) not bound to stay at Palm Garden and is able to leave at any time. If she wanted to return home at some future date with her husband and he could provide the care she needs, then that would be fine."

In November, Pine Run LLC filed a complaint to evict the Liermans. On Monday, Circuit Judge Jack Singbush said he had no choice but to find in favor of the development, and gave Larry Lierman 10 days to move out.

Lierman's not sure where he will go. Laid off from a trucking job in January, he just began working again last week, he said.

"I don't have the money to move," he said. "I don't want to move."

The Liermans fought back before Frances Lierman's death by filing a discrimination complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations, and with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. The complaint alleges Pine Run discriminated against the couple on the basis of Frances Lierman's medical disability. That complaint remains pending.

Lierman wants to stay in the last home he and his wife knew together. His wife's cremated remains are still in the residence.

"She's finally home, and now I have to move her out. I don't feel it's right," he said.

He believes the stress of the legal proceedings further damaged his wife's health.

"I think it contributed to her passing away sooner," he said.

Lierman likes the neighborhood and hasn't had any problems with his neighbors, he said.

"I'm happy here. I love the people around me," he said.

He doesn't know what will happen if he's forced to move and the discrimination complaint is resolved in his favor, Lierman said.

The Pine Run deed restrictions do provide a possible way for Lierman to stay, but it would require the approval of the homeowners' association.

"The Association may, but shall not be required to, grant reasonable deviations from the requirements of this Section," the deed restrictions state, "so long as the deviation shall not cause non-compliance with the provisions of the Housing for Older Persons Act. ... No approval or grant of deviation from the requirements of this section shall be made unless in writing and signed by a responsible officer of the Association."

If he does have to move, Lierman's willing to return in four months.

"The minute I turn 55, I can walk right back in here," he said. "I love this house. This was the last home my wife saw before she passed away. She felt this was her home."