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Article Courtesy of The
Institute For Justice
By J. Justin Wilson
Published May 10, 2021
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TAMPA —In a blow to property rights, on Monday a federal judge upheld fines
against Jim Ficken, a Dunedin property owner who was assessed $30,000 in fines
and threatened with foreclosure for the offense of tall grass. Jim, who is
represented by the Institute for Justice (“IJ”), plans to appeal the district
court’s decision. If the decision remains intact, it will mean that local
governments can impose maximum fines for petty code violations without first
providing notice that the fines are accruing.
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The fines at issue
stem from a two-month period in the summer of 2018, while
Jim was in South Carolina tending to his late mother’s
estate.
“I was out of town when code enforcement officials first
noticed my grass was too tall,” Ficken said. “They came back
almost every day to record the violation, but never notified
me that I was on the hook for fines. By the time I found
out, I owed them tens of thousands of dollars. Then, they
refused to reduce the fines and voted to authorize the
foreclosure of my home. I am disappointed that the court
sided with Dunedin, but what happened to me is wrong, and I
will continue to fight.”
“The city’s behavior toward Jim is outrageous,” said IJ
Attorney Ari Bargil. “This ruling emboldens code enforcement
departments across the state to impose crippling financial
penalties and it empowers them to do so without first
notifying a property owner that they are potentially going
to be fined.” |
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The district court concluded that the city was not required to provide
advanced notice that Jim was subject to fines. Instead, the court determined
that the city afforded Jim constitutionally compliant notice because it
eventually told him—after he had already cut the grass—that his property had
been under investigation the entire time. Having accepted that the notice
provided was sufficient, the district court further concluded that fines at
issue—$500 per day for tall grass—were not unconstitutional.
“The Constitution protects against fines that are excessive or ‘grossly
disproportional’ to an offense,” said IJ Attorney Andrew Ward. “If $30,000
for tall grass in Florida is not excessive, it is hard to imagine what is.
Yesterday’s ruling is wrong on the law, and we will be appealing.”
Read the decision
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