A working single mother and homeowner in the town of Lantana, Florida, has been facing $250 fines every day for more than a year simply because one of the four cars owned by her other members of her family ends up parking somewhere on the grass in her front yard. Sandy Martinez owns her home and lives there with her son, daughter and sister, all of whom have full-time jobs that require their own car.
Her house is on a corner lot at a four-way intersection, so street parking is not an option. She faces a fine if anyone parks in a way that obstructs the sidewalk, and parking on the swell makes the family’s cars vulnerable to collisions, so the most logical thing to do is to park with two tires on the grass. According to New York Post, “After the initial citation, Martinez attempted to arrange a visit with a code enforcement officer to demonstrate that she had corrected the violation. But those efforts proved fruitless.”
Martinez now faces more than $160,000 in city-issued fines for the misdemeanor charge of two-wheel parking on her lawn, which she owns, as well as for having cracks in the driveway and damage to her fence from a storm.
The fines mean she is no longer even able to sell her house
Due to the impact of the massive fines imposed on her properties for these stupid, minor concerns, Martinez says it has destroyed the equity she had built up in her home, and now she can’t even sell the property. The Institute for Justice has represented Martinez in court for years in an effort to reduce egregious fines under Florida’s Excessive Fines Clause, but the Florida Supreme Court recently declined to hear her case. Institute of Justice senior attorney Ari Bargil said CBS News”Six-figure fines for on-site parking are shocking. The court’s refusal to hear Sandy’s case is a disservice to all Floridians.”
Florida ranch protection protects Martinez’s home from foreclosure, but she is left with few options following the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to leave the six-figure fine in place. Since the state court system reached this ruling, her only option would be to try again in federal court.
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