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“I understand that the town council wanted a judge to make a final judgment,” Black said. “They got that. They found that it's private property. The town does not own the land. The town does not own the structures, and the town doesn't own the water.” 

Earlier this month, Ninth Circuit Court Judge John E. Jordan found in favor of the boathouse owners in a ruling that excoriated the town council, stating that there was “nothing equitable or fair” about its actions in attempting to evict the owners of the boathouses since the town had no rights to the structures or the land. But the judgment was not yet final. Windermere disagreed with the judge’s decision. New motions were filed. Thursday afternoon, the judge denied the town's request for a re-hearing of the matter. A hearing on final judgment is scheduled for Nov. 13. 

Windermere residents just want it to stop. 

Black, who said she considers many of the boathouse owners friends and family, said it’s been “shocking and unsettling” to see the town she grew up in pursuing the lawsuit. 

“The way that they’ve treated their own residents over the past three years is really sad,” Black said. “There’s been threats, there’s been mistreatment, and everyone just wants to know why.”

Judy Black, a realtor, and Amanda’s mother, has lived in Windermere since 1986. She handled most of the quit claim deeds that transferred ownership of the boathouses through the years. She said it’s been “frustrating” to watch the lawsuit drag on and hopes the town won’t appeal Judge Jordan’s ruling within the 30 days it’s permitted to do so. 

“It's possible that everything's working in the right direction,” Judy Black said. “It's possible that everybody has the best intent. But until we know for sure, we want to keep the pressure [on] and let them know that we want them to do the right thing.” 

Resident Karen Fay echoed that sentiment. Her husband, Gerald Fay, is named as one of the consolidated defendants in the lawsuit. The couple have lived in Windermere for more than 50 years. Their boathouse has been in their family for more than 60 years. 

“I think that because of the summary judgment, we feel that we are in the right,” Fay said. “They are not in the right, and what we just want is our money back…We're having to pay the town's attorneys out of my taxes — so basically, I’m suing myself.”

To date, according to Town Manager Robert Smith, the town has spent $637,000 in legal fees to litigate the matter.

Fay said she does not believe the lawsuit will go any further.

“I think the [town has] had enough people say, No more frivolous lawsuits,” she said. “People are fatigued. They’re tired of it.”

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She added, however, that she believes the defendants need to be made whole and reimbursed both for their attorneys’ fees and for the rent owners paid the town through the decades, which the judge deemed the town had no right to charge. She estimated it to be around $70,000, collectively. 

Still, she respects the council members and the work they do for the town. 

“I'm good friends with all of them,” Fay said. “I wouldn't want to be in their position. They were smart to allow the judge to make the decision. But now that the judge has, we’ve got to figure out where we go from here.”

The town’s regularly scheduled council meeting followed the shade meeting, and council members did not address anything that had been discussed. Later, Smith told VoxPopuli, he could not comment on any aspect of ongoing litigation. 

But residents were not done. Windermere resident Ed Williams addressed council members directly during public comment, telling them he was “extremely disappointed” to have to be there that night but had “no choice” because of the manner in which the boathouse situation had been handled.

“I know you just had your meeting to decide whether you're going to appeal to the judge, and I'd like to offer a couple of suggestions,” he said. “First, go apologize to the owners for the cost, the time spent, the worry and the aggravation they've had to suffer. Second, pay their fees and costs for their attorneys that they used… And then, apologize.”

Mayor Jim O’Brien swiftly moved on to the next order of business.