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Retirement community wants girl, 6, gone
upi ^ | Oct. 22, 2009 a

Posted on 10/22/2009 5:38:34 PM PDT by JoeProBono

PINELLAS PARK, Fla.- A Florida couple said the homeowners association of their retirement community is trying to evict their 6-year-old granddaughter.

Jimmy and Judie Stottler of Pinellas Park said their granddaughter, Kimberly, came to live with them as an infant when authorities took her away from her drug-abusing mother, WSTP-TV, St. Petersburg, Fla., reported Thursday. The girl has stayed with her grandparents in the retirement community since, even though the community's rules don't allow children.

The couple said the homeowners association is now pressuring them to comply with the ban on children, but they are unable to move because they can't find a buyer for their house, said Robert Eckard, an attorney representing the family free of charge.

"If they sell the home, they can move; if not, they're homeless on the street," he said.

The Stottlers said they fear Kimberly may be put in foster care if they can't sell their house. Eckard said the final decision on whether the child can stay will be up to a judge.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: children; contracts; fla; grandparents; hoa; retirement
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To: ColdWater
Lol, you dug all the way back to 2005 to find that? I hope your grass didn't grow too long while you were digging. That can be a nasty fine.

Although a ban on mandatory HOAs sounds pretty good. Perhaps even bulldoze the houses of board members in the really bad ones. They'll understand. It's for the good of neighborhood, after all.
121 posted on 10/22/2009 10:09:27 PM PDT by mysterio
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To: mysterio
Lol, you dug all the way back to 2005 to find that? I hope your grass didn't grow too long while you were digging. That can be a nasty fine

Actually it took about 15 seconds to find it. Just Google 'mysterio hoa'.

122 posted on 10/22/2009 10:12:52 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: Snurple

Jimmy and Judie Stottler suck?


123 posted on 10/22/2009 10:38:25 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: JoeProBono
"Retirement community wants girl, 6, gone"

"Florida Community Sues to Evict Three Year-Old"

124 posted on 10/22/2009 10:43:40 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: ColdWater

“Oregon Apartment Complex Bans Flying the American Flag”


125 posted on 10/22/2009 10:47:42 PM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet)
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To: GovernmentShrinker
They may well have been laboring under the auspices of one of the insane family courts, that keeps refusing to permanently terminate parental rights, and constantly giving the druggie mother a route to getting the child back (e.g. “If you complete this 6 month drug rehab program, you can have her back”, repeated over and over again no matter how many times the druggie mother flunks out of rehab and relapses).

They weren't.

126 posted on 10/22/2009 10:54:53 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: GovernmentShrinker
The association allowed the child to live here for years

FALSE

The association has been trying to get them out for years ....

127 posted on 10/22/2009 10:56:51 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: rockinqsranch
Seems to me they should have taken action six years ago rather than allow the precedent of the child living there be set.

They did. Five years ago when the girl started living in the house.

128 posted on 10/22/2009 11:03:37 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: Canedawg
I’d give them some more time to try to sell their unit, and I certainly wouldnt kick them out.

They have had five years. How much more time would you give them?

129 posted on 10/22/2009 11:05:05 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: mysterio
Being forced to join as a condition of buying the house isn't voluntary.

Are you saying you do not have a choice to buy or not buy the house?

Here's the thing: If you know there's a homeowners association and you don't like the rules - don't buy the house. It's that simple. Don't buy the house then decide you don't like the rules and won't abide by them for if you do, you're the one in the wrong.

If like me, you don't want some nosey-body asshole telling you what you can do on your property, who can (or cannot) live in your home or how many pets you can have, then never ever buy a house that has "covenants" or is governed by a home owners association.

It's really that simple.

As for these grandparents and the six year old child - yes life happens and they need to deal with it. My heart goes out to them for the situation that they're in, but they had to know the rules when they moved in. If they didn't, that's their fault and no one elses. If they desire to keep raising their grandchild, it's time for them to do the right thing and move. Work with the HOA and come up with a solution together, that's the right thing to do.

Yes, it's that simple. I really do not understand why some people have a hard time living up to the agreements they signed or rules they chose to abide by until it becomes "inconvenient" for them. That's just a big stinking pile of B.S.

130 posted on 10/22/2009 11:05:46 PM PDT by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: KYGrandma
But I do think the HOA should have done it in the beginning.

They did. It has taken five years to get to the eviction stage.

131 posted on 10/22/2009 11:06:36 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: NautiNurse
Who knows, maybe they were given a deadline, and they ignored it.

The first notice was given five years ago. Three years ago the association filed suit.

132 posted on 10/22/2009 11:08:37 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: Ramius
However, they failed to enforce the rule for six years.

FALSE

133 posted on 10/22/2009 11:11:26 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: GovernmentShrinker
The association allowed the child to live here for years, and a court will likely find it has lost the right to enforce the rule against her,

FALSE

134 posted on 10/22/2009 11:13:38 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: ColdWater

Has the association taken them to court? If not, it hasn’t been “trying” very seriously.

Personally, I have little sympathy for these senior-only communities, because they are the special pets of the socialist government. They are an indefensible exception to the laws prohibiting “discrimination” in housing, which force all other renters to live with howling toddlers whether they want to or not. The special exception carved out by the government for seniors was aimed at reducing the political pressure against these laws, so that they wouldn’t get thrown out by either the voters or the courts. If you’re a young adult who’s going to school and working and desperately need to get a good night’s sleep every night to keep going, tough luck. No rental housing is legally permitted to exclude children and maintain a peace-and-quiet and non-childproofed setting — except these government-protected senior communities. A former landlord of mine in Miami managed to do it anyway for many years — the complex was all one bedrooms, and had a lovely little unfenced pool in the middle of the nicely landscaped complex, and they just “steered” away people with children. Then some jerk sued him and he ended having to pay over a million dollars in fines and started letting low-lifes who cram families with children into one bedroom apartments move in. Fortunately that was AFTER I’d finished law school and moved away. Why should “seniors” have a legal right to live in quiet, adult-only communities, but nobody else does?


135 posted on 10/22/2009 11:16:05 PM PDT by GovernmentShrinker
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To: GovernmentShrinker
Has the association taken them to court? If not, it hasn’t been “trying” very seriously.

YES. First notice was given five years ago. Filed suit three years ago.

136 posted on 10/22/2009 11:17:21 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: GovernmentShrinker
Personally, I have little sympathy for these senior-only communities, because they are the special pets of the socialist government. They are an indefensible exception to the laws prohibiting “discrimination” in housing, which force all other renters to live with howling toddlers whether they want to or not. The special exception carved out by the government for seniors was aimed at reducing the political pressure against these laws, so that they wouldn’t get thrown out by either the voters or the courts. If you’re a young adult who’s going to school and working and desperately need to get a good night’s sleep every night to keep going, tough luck. No rental housing is legally permitted to exclude children and maintain a peace-and-quiet and non-childproofed setting — except these government-protected senior communities. A former landlord of mine in Miami managed to do it anyway for many years — the complex was all one bedrooms, and had a lovely little unfenced pool in the middle of the nicely landscaped complex, and they just “steered” away people with children. Then some jerk sued him and he ended having to pay over a million dollars in fines and started letting low-lifes who cram families with children into one bedroom apartments move in. Fortunately that was AFTER I’d finished law school and moved away. Why should “seniors” have a legal right to live in quiet, adult-only communities, but nobody else does?

You have it backwards. Why should the government force people to rent to low-lifes.

137 posted on 10/22/2009 11:20:13 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: GovernmentShrinker
Then some jerk sued him and he ended having to pay over a million dollars in fines and started letting low-lifes who cram families with children into one bedroom apartments move in.

But if this jerk sued a HOA, you would totally support him. You are SO not consistent.

138 posted on 10/22/2009 11:21:57 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: GovernmentShrinker
Has the association taken them to court? If not, it hasn’t been “trying” very seriously.

According to your #111, they did nothing. According to the FACTS, they have been trying for five years.

139 posted on 10/22/2009 11:23:45 PM PDT by ColdWater
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To: rockinqsranch
“I was wondering the same thing myself except wondering why the HOA allowed it to go on for so long. Seems to me they should have taken action six years ago rather than allow the precedent of the child living there be set.”

That would be the “Doctrine of Latches.”

If the HOA was aware that the child was there for five or six years and they did nothing about it, then they would be estopped from enforcing their rule. This would be especially true if one could prove that the HOA was, in fact, aware that the child was there from early on.

See it in the patent world once in a while. If you are aware someone is infringing on your patent and you send them a “Cease and Desist” notice, and you then do nothing about the infringement, for say, five or six years (and especially if the infringer tools up or builds up facilities and the like for production), then you basically screwed yourself. They can infringe on you.

But yeah, what about age discrimination laws? My ex and I looked at a home in a retirement community where children weren't allowed (in California — we were newlyweds), and they told us that they couldn't really enforce the rule by law, but why would you want to live there if you could live elsewhere?

140 posted on 10/22/2009 11:24:23 PM PDT by Daniel II (I'm Jim Thompson, this is my brother Jimmy, and this is my other brother Jimmy)
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