July 28: Arizona homeowner A.J. Vizzi spent nearly $200,000 defending his right to park his pickup truck in his own driveway. (MyFoxTampaBay.com)
A Florida man spent nearly $200,000 defending his right to park his pickup truck in his own driveway, MyFoxTampaBay.com reported Wednesday.
When he first moved to the house in Odessa, Fla., in 1997, A.J. Vizzi was told that parking his large truck in the driveway was not against the subdivision's rules -- but years later, community governance body the Eagles Masters Association said it did violate their rules and therefore had to go.
Because the truck did not fit in his garage, Vizzi decided to stand his ground. The homeowners' association then sued him, kicking off a two-year court battle.
"They just didn't care," Vizzi told Fox 13. "It was like, 'our rules overrule what your community says because we're a master association and, you know, we're right and you're wrong.' I couldn't believe I had to go hire an attorney just to defend myself against this ... meritless lawsuit."
In December 2008, a judge ruled in his favor -- but the homeowners' association appealed the decision, sending the case back to court.
In March, Vizzi won again, and a judge awarded him more than $187,000 in legal fees this week.
"I think what people should take away from this is that homeowners should be left alone unless it’s a very serious issue," said Dan Anderson, Vizzi's lawyer. "And, certainly, requiring a homeowner to spend over two hundred thousand dollars to defend themselves simply to park a vehicle in the driveway just doesn't make any sense at all."
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