Status of Litigation

In the days leading up to the Revolutionary War which gave birth to our nation, citizens were so motivated by inequalities in taxation that they revolted in the “Boston Tea Party”. Today our “Florida Tea Party” is in the courts instead of on ships, but the mission is the same - to free citizens of inequality in taxation.

We currently have three law suits filed and will very shortly have two additional lawsuits filed challenging the taxation inequality resulting from the Save our Homes Amendment (“SOHA”) to the Florida Constitution.

The first lawsuit is a class action brought by out of state residents to challenge SOHA on behalf of all non-residents of Florida who own second homes in this state. This lawsuit is the Lanning case. The trial court determined their case and it is now on appeal to the appellate court.

The second lawsuit is a class action which challenges SOHA on behalf of all taxpayers who have become resident homesteaders in Florida within the last four years. This lawsuit is the Bruner case. This case also challenges the constitutionality and impact of Amendment One on resident homesteaders. This case has been argued to the trial judge and we are waiting his ruling.

The third lawsuit will be a class action which challenges SOHA on behalf of all Florida homesteaders who have purchased their residence within the last four years. This lawsuit is in the formative stage and yet to be named.

The fourth lawsuit will provide a "Safe Harbor" for all non-residents and resident homesteaders, who may be potential members of one of the three classes above described but who want to insure their right to recover excessive back taxes which they have paid and will pay in the future during the course of the class action litigation. The necessity for you to join this fourth lawsuit if you want to preserve such rights is set forth by the Florida Supreme Court in the case of Osterndorf v. Turner, 426 So.2d 539 (Fla. 1982). The statute implementing SOHA had a five year residency requirement for the homestead exemption. The Florida Supreme Court in Osterndorf responded to a challenge to the constitutionality of that residency requirement. The Court found unconstitutional that part of the statute which limited the tax exemption “to those homeowners who have lived in Florida for five consecutive years immediately prior to claiming the exemption.” The Court at page 545 reasoned:

"We find there is no rational basis for distinguishing between bonafide residents of more than five consecutive years and bonafide residents of less than five consecutive years in the payment of taxes on their homes. This disparate treatment of resident homeowners cannot be allowed if our equal protection clause is to have any real meaning...The reason for the equal protection clause was to assure that there would be no second class citizens. To approve the validity of the statute would in reality establish a second class of citizens in Florida."

The Supreme Court in its decision, however, limited relief to subsequent years “except for those persons who have judicially challenged the statute in a timely manner.” The purpose of our "Safe Harbor" lawsuit is to give all interested homeowner taxpayers the opportunity to specifically “challenge the statute (SOHA) in a timely manner” to protect and preserve their remedies to fullest extent possible.

It is fundamental that there is strength in numbers. We need our "Florida Tea Party" to become a voice that cannot be ignored if this call for equality is to succeed. If you feel you are being treated as a "Second Class Citizen", want your voice to be heard and want to receive the benefit of this litigation, please join the "Florida Tea Party for Tax Equality", click on “How Do I Join?” and welcome aboard. If you desire more information concerning the potential need for the “Safe Harbor” litigation please visit the tab marked “Safe Harbor".