DUNEDIN, Fla. — A Dunedin homeowner was fined $30,000 for tall grass, leading to a lawsuit in 2019. That lawsuit, filed by theInstitute for Justice on behalf of Jim Ficken for "excessive" fines, brought national attention to the city.
An ABC Action News I-Team investigation helped prompt changes that ultimately helped bring closure to Ficken's legal battle.
When ABC Action News first spoke with Ficken five years ago, he was facing not only fines — but possible foreclosure.
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“I was shocked. Especially since they didn’t let me know that it was running $500 a day until after it had already run for about seven weeks," Ficken said at the time.
“My mom died in Columbia, South Carolina, and I’ve been dealing with her estate for years. And so I was going up here periodically trying to deal with those issues, and I had a neighbor who had been helping out with handyman and cutting yards. And so I asked him to cut the yard while I was away, and he did, except for this last trip when he passed away while I was out of town for two months," Ficken said.
The grass that was too tall grew into a $30,000 fine that was too big for Ficken to fight alone.
“They were a godsend, just because they’ve dealt with these issues before," Ficken said of the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit, public interest law firm. "Before then, I was just a little guy being bullied."
At that time, in 2019, the I-Team discovered the city hired a crisis PR firm as it came under fire from the public.
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"A lot of other people who were in circumstances similar to Jim’s came forward saying, I’m facing crippling fines as well. And the city, to its credit, responded to that criticism by creating a fine reduction system. By that time, Jim’s case was already moving its way through the federal courts. Ultimately, Jim’s case was not successful in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, but by the time it was done, the fine reduction mechanism was in place in Dunedin, and Jim was able to avail himself of the very process that was put into place because of his initial lawsuit," Ficken's attorney Ari Bargil said.
Ficken told the I-Team he ultimately paid nearly $8,000 after fighting off an extra $10,000 in administration fees the city tried to include. They settled that second lawsuit.
The City of Dunedin would only provide a statement. They said it has prevailed in every legal judgment and that the city did not violate Ficken's state or federal constitutional right to due process of imposing unlawful fines.
Appeals court sides with Dunedin after city fined man $30K for uncut grass
While the fines weren't unlawful, the lien amnesty program the city has since created to provide relief for these issues has processed around 40 requests so far.
City of Dunedin Procedure for Lien Reduction or Waiver
“Not only reducing my fine, but fines for everybody else, so that to me is the positive benefit out of it, to start a little bit of reigning in some of their unreasonable decisions on these kinds of things," Ficken said.
Full Statement - City of Dunedin
"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."
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