PEBBLE CREEK - There will be no fast resolution in the lawsuit between the Pebble Creek Homeowners Association and a couple whose lawn went brown in the Florida sun.

In a strongly worded ruling that broadly supports the rights of an association to enforce deed restrictions over a property owner's objections, County Judge Paul Huey refused to dismiss a suit that the homeowners association filed last July.

The association sued after homeowners Edward and Billye Simmons refused to pay the $2,212 it cost to repair their lawn. A weight loss technician rents the home from the Simmonses and lives there with her four foster children. The Simmonses say the association trespassed when it sent workers to resod the lawn.

The couple countersued, asking Huey to dismiss the first suit.

But Huey ruled on June 9 that Pebble Creek was allowed to fix the lawn without the Simmonses' permission because the covenants they signed give the association clear authority to make such improvements. The association gave the Simmonses ample warning of its intentions, Huey wrote.

"The relevant association documents expressly empowered (the association) to undertake the replacement of the lawn," Huey wrote. "And (the association) complied with all notice requirements before taking the actions."

The president of the Pebble Creek Homeowners Association cheered the ruling.

"Wasn't that nice?" Michael Carricato said Tuesday. "The judgment we got was very enlightening and heartening because, so far, he's supported the association's enforcement of its deed restrictions."

Still, Huey only threw out an effort to dismiss the suit. He still must rule on whether the Simmonses must pay attorneys fees and the lawn costs and whether the homeowners association abused its power.

But the wording of Huey's latest ruling suggests any future decision will favor the association.

"It gives me an idea of what problems I'm up against with this court," said the Simmonses' attorney, Burton Williams. "I've always suspected we'll have to appeal this case."