Dispute rages on over Florida floating home despite man's victory at US Supreme Court
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this April 22, 2014 photo, Fane Lozman poses for photos holding his dog and in front of his home floating in the waters near North Bay Village, Fla. He caught legal lightning in a bottle last year when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with him that his floating home was a house, not a vessel covered by maritime law. But the justices haven’t had the last word: Lozman is still fighting for compensation for the home, which was destroyed years ago. The Fort Lauderdale-based federal judge whose decision on the floating home was overturned, U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas, refused earlier this year to give Lozman any of the $25,000 bond posted by the city of Riviera Beach to pay for Lozman’s home in case he won. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter) (The Associated Press)
A South Florida man won a U.S. Supreme Court case last year that declared his floating home a house, not a vessel. But Fane Lozman is still fighting for compensation for the home, which the city of Riviera Beach intentionally destroyed five years ago.
A Fort Lauderdale federal judge refused in March to give Lozman a single penny of the $25,000 bond posted by the city to pay for Lozman's home in case he won.
Now, Lozman is seeking compensation through a separate civil rights lawsuit he filed in 2008. It claims that Riviera Beach city officials conspired to harass him over his opposition to a private marina project.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A hearing is set for May 19 that will determine whether the case ends or proceeds to trial.