A FLORIDA RETIREE'S UNCUT LAWN MAY COST HIM HIS HOUSE.

• Author: Doherty, Brian

THE CITY OF Dunedin, Florida, really wants Jim Ficken's house. Last year, the 69-year-old retiree left town to attend to his dying mother and then to sort out her estate. While he was away, he left a handyman in charge of his property. In a Shakespearean twist, the handyman also died, leaving Ficken's lawn unmowed and the municipality perturbed.

Ficken returned home, learned that he was in violation of Dunedin's tall grass ordinance, and mowed his lawn two days later. The city then held a hearing at which it decided to retroactively fine Ficken for each day that his grass had exceeded 10 inches in height. Because he had let his grass grow too tall once before, in 2015, Dunedin deemed him a "repeat violator" and doubled his daily fine from $250 to $500. The total damage: over $29,000.

Ficken, who is on a fixed income, can't pay the city. In a sane world, his explanation for neglecting the lawn and the fact he remedied the problem promptly upon being informed of it by a code inspector would settle the matter. But Dunedin, a picturesque beach town on Florida's Gulf Coast, has threatened to foreclose on Ficken's home to get the money it claims it is owed. Ficken, who is being represented by the Institute for Justice (I. J.), is now suing the city in order to protect his house and end the saga.

In his lawsuit, filed in May, Ficken argues that Dunedin's practice of imposing such large fines with such extreme consequences, "without providing... notice before applying such classification" and without "advising...of the consequences of such a classification...violates the Due Process Clauses of both the U.S. and Florida Constitutions."

The city, which sought to have the lawsuit tossed by the Florida Circuit Court for the 6th Judicial District, says Ficken received all the due process he was owed. Dunedin informed him of a hearing where his case would be discussed, and in which the doubled "repeat violator" fines were retroactively imposed.

A filing from Ficken's lawyers counters that Dunedin officials were "repeatedly advised that Jim would not be able to attend the hearing," yet "the City went forward anyway." According to I. J., "this 'process' was one in which Jim was not permitted to participate," and "when he sought a rehearing, his request was rejected." Ficken adds that he was never informed...