DUNEDIN, Fla. — A six-year-long court battle is finally over for a Dunedin man. It all began with the city's code ordinance on how tall grass can be before fines kick in.
Jim Ficken was fined tens of thousands of dollars, then he sued the city.
His fines accumulated to $30,000 for having grass more than ten inches tall. As those fines grew, his home was at risk of foreclosure.
A statement from the city last year read, "James Ficken was an absentee landlord with a history of code violations. He had 15 citations for code violations dating back to 2007."
Ficken lost that lawsuit, but he was able to get his fines drastically reduced.
"So Jim availed himself of the process, got himself an 80% fine reduction," Ari Bargil, the senior attorney for the Institute for Justice shared. "And then the city sought $10,000 in administrative fees on top, all stemming, they said, from the original lawsuit. That's improper and that resulted in another lawsuit against the city, which was recently resolved."
That second lawsuit was settled earlier this month.
"They finally decided to send me the ten thousand dollars that they asked in excess of what they should have," Ficken said when describing the settlement agreement between him and the city of Dunedin. "I'm very disappointed there were so many there were so many places that they could have done something differently that I think would have been more fair."
Ficken's lawyers said he was able to resolve his debt with the city. Ficken still thinks residents should have more say in the land and property they own.
"Well it's just-- it's very frustrating and it just doesn't seem like you own your own property anymore it's just the city owns it pretty much and they can do what they want and you have very little recourse," Ficken said.
While these court cases played out, the city of Dunedin has changed its code to allow residents to petition for reduced fines. Those changes and the settlement aren't enough to encourage Ficken to stay in town.
"Well I'm glad I'm glad that that is over and I'll be glad when I can get everything fixed up with this property and sell the property and move to a different jurisdiction," he said.
Ficken says he wouldn't go so far as to say he is satisfied with how this court case was resolved, but he's glad to be done with legal battles with the city.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to the city of Dunedin for a statement on the settlement:
The City of Dunedin, Florida, has prevailed in every legal judgment, including the Federal District Court judgment in April 2021, and the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals case in 2022. These rulings in the City’s favor affirmed the City did not violate James Ficken’s state or federal constitutional right to due process or impose unlawful fines. This is consistent with the legal findings before the City’s Code Enforcement Board.
In 2023, Mr. Ficken brought the property at 1341 Lady Marion Lane into compliance with the City’s code and applied for the City’s amnesty lien reduction program, but disputed administration fees as part of the balance due. He filed a second lawsuit. Both the City and Mr. Ficken have since resolved all disputes and claims.
The City of Dunedin is committed to protecting the health and safety of our citizens, and public and private investments in the community through fair and equitable policies consistent with the applicable law. The City continues to focus on code compliance policies and procedures which serve our residents with information, education and guidance on compliance.
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, X, and Instagram pages.