Photo: iStockphoto
A Florida woman was jailed for a week following a dispute with her homeowners' association over a patch of brown grass in her yard, the Atlanta Black Star reports.
Irena Green said her HOA organization, The Trowbridge Company, Inc., filed a civil lawsuit against her after issuing violation notices about the state of her yard.
Green said the yard's patch of brown grass was due to a drought that had prompted mandatory watering restrictions in Hillsborough County. The Tampa homeowner added that her yard wasn't the only one in the neighborhood that didn't meet HOA standards.
“If you drive around my neighborhood, you’ll see there’s plenty of yards not up to par,” Green said.
The HOA also cited Green for mildew on her mailbox, a dent in her garage, and a commercial cargo van in her driveway, despite other neighbors having similar vehicles.
Trowbridge moved to sue Green after she failed to respond to a request for mediation. The lawsuit accused the homeowner of breaking community appearance rules and demanded that she fix the issue.
Green said she complied with an order to correct the violations, but she later missed a follow-up court date. The homeowner said she never received a notice for the court appearance.
“I was supposed to receive documentation. Nothing was sent to my home. And I reached out to the courthouse several times to try to find out when was my court date,” Green said.
Green was held in contempt of court last August. Months later, she was pulled over by a cop, who said there was a warrant for her arrest. The homeowner was transported to a local jail, where she was kept for nearly a week after being denied bail.
“There was no bond. So I couldn’t even go home to my family. I sat in there for seven days. Seven days in the jailhouse like a criminal,” Green said.
While she was in custody, Green's sister-in-law filed a petition for an emergency hearing.
“I went to court, and I had to be shackled from my hands to my feet,” Green recalled.
Green was assigned a different judge, who cleared the way for her release despite opposition from the HOA's legal team.
“He wanted me to continue to sit in jail and not come home to my family," Green said of the HOA attorney.
In a statement, the HOA board of directors said they sued Green after she disregarded notices of violation. However, Green maintains that the legal action leading to her detainment was unnecessary.
“It makes me feel horrible. I work hard to buy this home for me and my kids in a better neighborhood and environment and to be taken to jail and to be treated like that for brown grass at my own home … that’s horrible," she said.
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