A Florida mother named Irena Inexperienced discovered herself in handcuffs over her brown grass and a unclean mailbox outdoors her dwelling, due to her strict HOA (Owners Affiliation). What began as a easy violation discover spiraled into extra notices earlier than a lawsuit was filed. Irena ended up lacking her court docket date, prompting her to face THIS many days behind bars. Right here’s the lowdown…
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Extra On Irena Inexperienced’s Ordeal With Her HOA
Irena’s nightmare started with a discover from The Trowbridge Firm Inc., her HOA’s administration, declaring her garden’s browning grass. “The grass has began turning brown. So then they began sending notes,” Inexperienced informed ABC Motion Information. She blamed a giant tree casting shade and drought-related watering restrictions in her space. “Should you drive round my neighborhood, you’ll see there’s loads of yards less than par,” she added. However the HOA was not keen to budge.
They hit her with extra violations: a unclean mailbox, a dented storage door, and a industrial cargo van parked in her driveway. Irena says related vans had been widespread in her neighborhood, and she or he felt singled out. When she ignored a mediation request, the HOA employed legal professional Francis Friscia to file a lawsuit in Hillsborough County Civil Courtroom.
Irena submitted a response with out an legal professional. She says she represented herself, however the decide rejected her letter. Then, in July 2024, the court docket gave her a 30-day ultimatum. Repair the violations or face jail time. “He mentioned you may get seed, you are able to do one thing, however you’ve acquired 30 days to get it corrected,” Irena recalled. She says she started working, promoting her van, scrubbing the mailbox, and seeding her garden. However issues had been removed from over.
A Missed Courtroom Date Landed Her Behind Bars
Irena thought she’d completed sufficient to conform, however the HOA nonetheless wasn’t glad. The true bother got here when she missed a follow-up court docket listening to in August 2024.
“I used to be alleged to obtain documentation. Nothing was despatched to my dwelling. And I reached out to the courthouse a number of occasions to attempt to discover out when was my court docket date,” she defined.
The decide, unimpressed, discovered her in contempt of court docket and issued a warrant for her arrest, allegedly at Friscia’s request. On Might 23, whereas driving her 15-year-old daughter dwelling from cheerleading follow, Irena was pulled over by a deputy. “He requested me can I get out. Once I acquired out he mentioned, ‘Ms. Inexperienced, do you know that you’ve got a warrant in your arrest?’” she recounted.
She was handcuffed and booked into jail with out bond. “There was no bond. So I couldn’t even go dwelling to my household. I sat in there for seven days. Seven days within the jailhouse like a felony,” Irena mentioned, describing the humiliation. She confronted two expenses. They had been in contempt of court docket and in failure to adjust to a court docket order to point out trigger.
Irene’s Been Launched However Nonetheless Combating
After six days in jail, Irena’s sister-in-law filed an emergency petition. On the listening to, her sibling introduced photographs proving the yard was fastened. A special decide ordered her instant launch, regardless of the HOA legal professional’s push to maintain her locked up.
“It makes me really feel horrible. I work onerous to purchase this dwelling for me and my youngsters in a greater neighborhood and setting, and to be taken to jail and to be handled like that for brown grass at my own residence … that’s horrible,” Irena continued.
Now, she’s mentioned to be going through 1000’s in authorized charges and a foreclosures menace from the HOA over unpaid dues. “I believe they’ve approach an excessive amount of energy. I’ve by no means heard of something like this in my life,” she mentioned.
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