Latest news with #SandyMartinez
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida mom takes fight against town to state Supreme Court after receiving $165K in ‘unconstitutional' fines
Sandy Martinez, a single mom in Lantana, Florida, is taking her town to the Florida Supreme Court to fight $165,000 in 'outrageous' and 'unconstitutional' fines for things like parking on her own property. 'Six-figure fines for parking on your own property are outrageous,' her attorney Mike Greenberg said in a news release. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 6 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10) Greenberg works for the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm representing Martinez in the case. According to the organization's website, its mission 'is to end widespread abuses of government power.' Its lawyers argue that Martinez's case is a textbook example of 'taxation by citation' — where cash-strapped municipalities use minor infractions to justify outsized penalties as a revenue-generating machine. As the New York Post reports, Martinez's problems started in May 2019, when she was cited because cars at her home occasionally had two tires parked on the lawn. She said it was bound to happen with four family members and four vehicles. The penalty? A staggering $250 per day. Read more: Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says — and that 'anyone' can do it Martinez claims she tried to resolve the situation by meeting with a code enforcement officer after the initial violation, but those attempts were 'fruitless,' and fines kept mounting — tapping out at $100,000 in parking violations. Lantana officials didn't stop there. According to court filings, Martinez was fined for cracks in her driveway, something she didn't have the money to fix right away. That resulted in daily $75 fines for 215 days, totaling $16,125, 'far greater than the cost of an entirely new driveway,' Martinez said in her lawsuit. Then came the fence. After a major storm knocked it down, Martinez waited for her insurance to cover repairs. While she waited, the city fined her $125 a day for 379 days, adding up to $47,375 in penalties. Martinez sued the city over the fines in 2021, but lower courts sided with the town. 'It's surreal that the town still refuses to admit that what it's doing to me is abusive and unfair,' Martinez said. Now in her appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, her lawsuit cites Florida's Excessive Fines Clause, which mirrors protections in the U.S. Constitution. Local officials have not publicly commented on the case. It's up to Florida's Supreme Court to decide whether the punishment truly fits the "crime", or if it's an abuse of power dressed as municipal regulation. While Martinez's case may be extreme, it highlights just how quickly minor violations can snowball into major financial stress. Here are some practical ways homeowners can stay ahead of fines, reduce financial risk and protect their assets: Get written notice and document everything. If you receive a code violation notice, ask for it in writing. Keep records of all correspondence, photos of your property before and after corrective actions and any receipts or repair quotes. Paper trails are crucial if you have to defend yourself legally or contest fines. Know your local ordinances. Municipal codes can vary, with some towns enforcing rules more strictly than others. Review your city's or HOA's code enforcement policies so you're not caught off guard by unexpected fines. Most city or county websites post their code enforcement rules and fine schedules. Act right away. Respond immediately to any violation notice. Contact the code enforcement office and ask for a walkthrough or extension while you fix the issue. Proactive communication can sometimes prevent daily fines from stacking up. Set up a home emergency fund. Even minor home repairs, like fixing a cracked driveway, can carry steep price tags. A home emergency fund (separate from your general savings) can help prevent you from dealing with fines, like Martinez. recommends putting aside 1–3% of your home's value for unexpected repairs. Ask for a fine reduction or hardship adjustment. Many municipalities offer hardship waivers or payment plans. You can often negotiate fines, especially if you can show financial hardship or prove the issue was out of your control (e.g., a delayed insurance payout). Ask in writing and reference any delays due to insurance or contractor availability. Know your rights. Florida, like many states, protects homeowners from 'excessive fines' under its state constitution. If fines feel disproportionate, especially compared to the violation, consult a legal aid group or nonprofit like the Institute for Justice. While most homeowners won't face six-figure fines like Sandy Martinez, the financial consequences of even 'minor' code violations can be devastating if ignored. Staying informed, communicating early, and having a financial safety net can help you avoid falling into a costly trap. Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead How much cash do you plan to keep on hand after you retire? Here are 3 of the biggest reasons you'll need a substantial stash of savings in retirement Robert Kiyosaki warns of a 'Greater Depression' coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 'easy-money' assets will bring in 'great wealth'. How to get in now Here are 5 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? Like what you read? Join 200,000+ readers and get the best of Moneywise straight to your inbox every week. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
New York Post
07-06-2025
- Automotive
- New York Post
Florida woman taking case over ‘outrageous' fines to state Supreme Court after wracking up nearly $200,000 in penalties
A fed-up Florida homeowner battling a whopping $165,000 in fines for nitpicky property violations — including a cracked driveway and a toppled fence — is dragging her case to the state's Supreme Court. Officials in the city of Latana, about 20 minutes south of Palm Beach, even fined Sandy Martinez for how she parked in her driveway. That alone set the single mom back a hefty $100,000 as daily penalties piled up. Martinez's parking fines started accumulating in May 2019. When all four family members' cars were home at her household, sometimes one would end up with two tires on the lawn. Advertisement 3 Martinez filed a lawsuit against Lantana, a town of roughly 12,000 residents, in 2021. Institute for Justice The penalty for that? A whopping $250 a day. After the first citation, Martinez tried to arrange a visit with a code-enforcement officer to show she had corrected the violation. But those efforts proved 'fruitless' and the daily fines accumulated, she said in a lawsuit she filed in 2021 against the city of Latana and local code enforcement. Advertisement 'Six-figure fines for parking on your own property are outrageous,' Institute for Justice Attorney Mike Greenberg, the lawyer representing Martinez, said in a news release about the case. 3 The town's main beef with Martinez is how her family parked their cars on their own driveway. Institute for Justice The city also fined Martinez for 'minor and purely cosmetic' cracks in her driveway, according to court papers. Martinez didn't have enough cash to fix the driveway right away. She was then hit with $75 fines every day for 215 days, for a total of $16,125 — 'far greater than the cost of an entirely new driveway,' she said in the litigation. Advertisement Then there was the fence. 3 Martinez and the Institute for Justice are taking the case to Florida's Supreme Court. Google A major storm downed it, but resolving the insurance claim to fix it took a while. During that time, Martinez was hit with $125 daily fines for 379 days, totaling $47,375. Martinez lost when she took her case to court in 2021, with the lower courts ruling against her. Advertisement Now she thinks it's time for Florida's highest court to weigh in on a constitutional basis — the right to be free from excessive fines and government abuse, protected by the Florida Constitution's Excessive Fines Clause. The case epitomizes 'taxation by citation,' something small towns, more prone to economic hardship, can sometimes rely on for part of their budgets, according to the Institute. The Institute says municipal code enforcement has become a 'cash cow' in Florida, with some towns generating millions of dollars annually. Local officials did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Yahoo
Florida Woman Fined $165,000 for Trivial Code Violations Takes Her Case to the Florida Supreme Court
Sandy Martinez, a homeowner in Lantana, Florida, has been battling over $165,000 in fines for three minor code violations for years. She's now asking the Florida Supreme Court to consider her case and put a stop to what she says are unconstitutionally excessive fines. Martinez's accumulated six-figure fine amounts to nearly four times her annual income, financially crippling the single mother over infractions that have since been corrected and never threatened health or safety. What atrocities warranted such devastating debt? Cracks in her driveway, a storm-blown fence, and cars parked on her own grass. First, Martinez faced daily $75 fines while saving up to replace her cracked driveway in 2013, ultimately owing $16,125 in total, "far greater than the cost of an entirely new driveway," as noted in the initial lawsuit. Then, the city began fining her $125 per day in 2015 for a fence knocked down after a storm. While Martinez waited for her insurance claim to pay for the repair, she accrued another $47,375 in fees—again, "several times the cost of the repair and substantially more than the cost of a completely new fence," according to her complaint. Finally, while living with her three children, mother, and sister in 2019, Martinez was cited for parking cars slightly beyond her driveway. Although she promptly fixed the issue and left a voicemail with code enforcement requesting a compliance check, no inspector came by. Martinez was being fined $250 per day. By the time the city recognized that the parking violation had been corrected, the total fine for the infraction had ballooned to $101,750. Unable to cover this debt—even if she sold her home—Martinez took her case to court in 2021, arguing that the city's fines are grossly disproportionate for her offenses and excessive under the Florida Constitution. So far, the lower courts have ruled against Martinez, reasoning that "substantial deference should be given to the legislature's determination of an appropriate fine." But she and her lawyers at the Institute for Justice believe it is time the Florida Supreme Court, which has not considered a case on the state constitution's excessive fines clause in over a century, revived the right to be free from excessive fines as a meaningful bulwark against government abuse. "Six-figure fines for parking on your own property are outrageous," said I.J. Attorney Mike Greenberg. "The Florida Constitution's Excessive Fines Clause was designed to stop precisely this sort of abuse—to prevent people from being fined into poverty for trivial violations." Martinez's circumstance is not an isolated incident. Florida homeowners across the state have endured massive, unjust fines without recourse, including a woman fined $103,559 for a dirty pool and overgrown grass, a family facing $250,000 in fines for invasive trees, and an elderly couple facing $366,000 in fines for duplex code violations. "Municipal code enforcement has become a major and recurring source of government abuse in the form of catastrophic fines," said I.J. Senior Attorney Ari Bargil. "The time has come for the Florida Supreme Court to once again interpret this important constitutional protection and finally put a stop to this injustice." The post Florida Woman Fined $165,000 for Trivial Code Violations Takes Her Case to the Florida Supreme Court appeared first on
