DUNEDIN, Fla. – A federal court has upheld a Florida city’s decision to issue nearly $30,000 in code violation fines to a homeowner whose grass was overgrown.
Following a two-year legal battle, a judge from the Middle District of Florida ruled this week that Jim Ficken, 71, will have to pay the fines to the city of Dunedin, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
The city issued the fines in 2018 and Ficken sued in May 2019 after the city sought to foreclose on his home to collect them, according to court records.
His lawyers argued Dunedin’s fines were excessive and given with no notice. “The city’s behavior toward Jim is outrageous,” Ficken’s attorney, Ari Bargil, said in a statement. “This ruling emboldens code enforcement departments across the