"Local news worth reading" — The New York Times
SUBSCRIBE
The independent voice for West Orange County news
Attorneys for the Town of Windermere and a group of residents squared off Sept. 17 at a court hearing over who owns the five historic boathouses at Palmer Park. There was no immediate decision.
The parties sought to have Judge John E. Jordan of the Ninth Circuit Court issue a summary judgment in the case ahead of a scheduled trial in November. However, Jordan said he will take both motions “under advisement,” allowing for further review. The parties can also submit by Sept. 30 documents, or "proposed orders," outlining their legal arguments that they want the judge to approve and sign.
Attorneys for law firms Fishback Dominick, representing the residents, and GrayRobinson, representing Windermere, attended the Wednesday hearing held at the Orange County Courthouse.
Both parties sought summary judgments to stave off the trial in a case that started three years ago. The residents, or the defendants, filed such a motion in June, followed by the town’s response in August.
The defendants are asking the judge to rule in their favor on all counts based on arguments that the town can’t prove ownership of the boathouses. The town’s response maintained that the defendants simply “refuse to live up to their end of the settlement and relinquish possession to the Town (sic) as required by the lease.”
The judge also heard the town’s motion for summary judgment that was filed in January 2024, which the court later also decided to take under advisement after a hearing in April that year. The motion argued that the lease agreement with the residents had expired and the town “is entitled to immediate possession” of the leased property and boathouses.
While the judge didn’t decide the case on Wednesday, he can still issue a decision after the proposed orders are submitted.
If the defendant’s summary judgment is granted on all counts, the case ends. However, if the plaintiff's partial summary judgment is granted, the case would proceed for the remaining counts to a pretrial conference scheduled for Oct. 13, followed by the Nov. 17 trial.
The latest arguments from both sides have focused on whether the bottom of the lagoon beneath the structures is privately owned or owned by the state of Florida.
The 10 residents who either currently own the structures or were named in the town's 2022 lawsuit said Windermere has no right to ownership and no ability to evict them.
However, the town dismisses those claims and maintains it has the right to evict the owners because they refused to turn the boathouses over to Windermere based on a 1986 lease agreement between the two parties.
