Brown lawn means jail time - Page 5

WI Crippler · 10-13-08, 03:46 PM

Thats why living in the country, or in rural areas is so great. Its freedom.

rivrrat · 10-13-08, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WI Crippler

Thats why living in the country, or in rural areas is so great. Its freedom.

tru dat

TOJ · 10-13-08, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coolguy

I guess you missed the point I made.

Based on the presented evidence, this is ridiculous because a guy went to jail over this.
In no way did I excuse his failing to comply to that which he agreed.
I did recognize the HOA for failing to accommodate him during his time of difficulty and stated,at the most, they should get together and help him out.

I do not recall saying I wanted to spend OPM.

But since you missed the point and would rather try and pigeonhole me to a certain group...
I am more than willing to spend your money to help the guy out.

Typical of your kind.

Coolguy · 10-13-08, 05:46 PM

Excuse me?
What is my kind?

Happy Days · 10-13-08, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UtahBill

But grass is simple unless they dictate the kind of grass. St. Augustine is a very rugged weed that looks like grass, been there and done that....
Walmart has grass seed that is relatively cheap and mixed for the area in which sold. Mix in a little dirt and water, and in a few months you need a lawnmower. Not hard at all...

I'm willing to bet they want his grass to look like everyone else's grass. The joy of HOAs. Crazy. Land of the free my ass. His little home should be his castle.

Phoenix · 10-14-08, 10:32 AM

The problem I see is, by jailing this man, they are criminalizing the rules of a private organization. Laws are supposed to be passed by elected officials to public office, not a private home owners association. This should be a civil matter not a criminal one.

Panther · 10-14-08, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phoenix

The problem I see is, by jailing this man, they are criminalizing the rules of a private organization. Laws are supposed to be passed by elected officials to public office, not a private home owners association. This should be a civil matter not a criminal one.

I'm surprised it got that far also. It was a civil matter, but apparently the guy ignored the judicial enforcement of the civil matter - which then made it a criminal matter.

But typically, most covenants provide for accumulated fines to be placed as liens on the homeowner's property. If the judicial system was involved, it normally would be on the part of the homeowner suing the HOA to have the lien removed. In this case, it would have remained a financial matter, and the homeowner would have likely lost - there would be no criminal aspect to the case.

This seems back-asswards, with the HOA using the judicial system proactively.

RightinNYC · 10-14-08, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phoenix

The problem I see is, by jailing this man, they are criminalizing the rules of a private organization. Laws are supposed to be passed by elected officials to public office, not a private home owners association. This should be a civil matter not a criminal one.

Say I sue you for defamation, an entirely civil matter. If you refuse to show up to court, the judge may simply enter a default judgment in my favor. If the judge has awarded me $25k and you refuse to pay, you're in contempt of court and are likely to be jailed. That's exactly what happened in this case.

The courts have to have this type of enforcement power or civil law means nothing.

DeeJayH · 10-15-08, 08:48 PM

I have supported most HOA's when a resident violted bylaws, but....

FAR - New & Events - Homeowner association troubles lead to jail

Quote:

TAMPA – Oct. 15, 2008 – Call it a case of lawn and order. A cash-strapped former Long Island resident was sent to jail for not taking care of the dying grass in the front yard of his Florida home.

Joseph Prudente, 66, a retired registered nurse, said he is two months behind on his mortgage, and is frantically trying to stop the bank from foreclosing on his $128,000, four-bedroom house in Bayonet Point, just north of Tampa.

“The other criminals couldn’t believe I was in jail,” Prudente told The Post yesterday after spending the weekend in the slammer.

“I told them I was there because of grass. I told them, ‘Not the kind you smoke – but the kind you walk on.’ “

<snip>

On Friday, Prudente turned himself in at the county jail.

“I didn’t want cops to come to my house,” he said. “I didn’t want my wife and grandkids to see grandpa being hauled away.”

Sympathetic neighbors who learned of Prudente’s plight got together to secure his release.

Andy Law, a former Marine who used to live in the complex, said he was upset that Prudente was put behind bars.

“What kind of world are we living in when we’re putting senior citizens in jail for having a brown lawn?” asked Law.

rules are rules, but this is so ****ed up

Quote:

Brown lawn means jail time - St. Petersburg Times

In an interview at the jail Friday evening, Prudente said he thought he had made a good financial hardship case to the association: His adjustable rate mortgage went up an extra $600 a month. Wachovia repossessed his Toyota Scion. His daughter and her two young children, who had fallen on hard times, moved in with him and his wife, Pat.

this isn't someone who spent money putting up a sign, or a flag
this isnt someone who spent money painting his house the wrong color
a retrired person, who not only fell on hard times, but so did his daughter and her to kids

amazing what this world has sunk to

Kayleigh Katz · 10-15-08, 10:37 PM

Original thread:

http://www.debatepolitics.com/breaki...jail-time.html (Brown lawn means jail time)