Being a homeowner can be extremely rewarding, but it can also come with some serious setbacks. After a woman in Florida received more than a $100,000 fine for simply parking in her own driveway, she knew it was time to get to the bottom of it.
Sandy Martinez was shocked when she found out her Florida town had been fining her $250 per day for over a year. The bill for her property code violation had climbed to over $100,000. Her offense? A car was parked with two of its wheels in her grass rather than the driveway. But the car was on her own property; her own grass. Sandy knew she had fixed the issue over a year before—soon after she received a citation and then called city inspectors to come back out.
Sandy reportedly lives with her mother, her sister, and her three children — two of whom are now adults. Given the fact that, in total, the household contains four drivers, it is often the case that four vehicles need to be squeezed into the driveway as best they can. That predicament resulted in one of the four vehicles being parked partially on grass.
Sandy could not believe her eyes when she received an alarming letter in the mail. While Sandy was furious over the fine, she did what she could to get things right. She called for an inspector to come and make sure the family was parking correctly.
Sandy waited on her porch for the inspector, but no one ever showed up. Even after countless voicemails, no one got back to her. This made her think that the fine was taken care of and the matter was settled.
Then, more than a year later, she learned that she had been fined $250 a day for 407 days for the offense, totaling $101,750. On top of that, the city fined Martinez $65,000 more in fines for cosmetic violations, such as cracks in the driveway and a broken fence.
The city of Lantana in Florida has a law that states, “All off-street parking spaces, including driveways, but not including parking spaces located in swale areas as permitted by section 17-34, shall be asphalt, concrete or black, and shall be hard surfaced and in good repair in compliance with town codes.”
However, Sandy’s driveway had very limited space.
Sandy and her family had lived in that house for 17 years, so it was appalling that all of a sudden they were receiving these pricey fines. Then, she got out her phone to call someone whom she thought could take care of this.
Sandy had heard of The Institute for Justice after learning about their work in helping people who were put in unfair and catastrophic situations by big government. She knew they would be the perfect fit for her predicament.
Her lawyer, Ari Bargil, argued the extraordinary fines plainly violate the Excessive Fines Clause of the Florida Constitution.
“The government doesn’t have the power to impose the financial death penalty for trivial violations,” he added, noting that his client has rectified all of the offenses immediately but that a code inspector has not come by to confirm the changes and drop the fines.
Lantana agreed to reduce all those fines to $25,000, but Sandy had to pay that sum by the week before Christmas, which she was unable to do. Now, she’s stuck owing the full $160,000.
She doesn’t seem intent on paying the fines, and she seems to have good counsel. Bargil said he is suing the city on the grounds that the fines violate Sandy’s Constitutional rights.
“We’re suing, asking the court to issue a declaratory judgment that says that the fines imposed against Sandy are unconstitutionally excessive because they’re grossly disproportionate to the offense,” he told WPTV. “We’re not asking for money. We’re fighting on principle on behalf of Sandy.”
Hopefully, Sandy can get the situation resolved, and it sounds like she’s working to do just that.
Watch the video report below for more details:
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