ARLINGTON, Va.— The Florida Supreme Court declined to hear the case of Lantana resident Sandy Martinez, who was challenging the sky-high fines for minor infractions issued to her by the city. The $165,000 that Sandy owes is a result of daily fines the city assessed for harmless property code violations. Most of this amount—more than $100,000—is a result of the way Sandy’s family parked their cars on their own property. Sandy was represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ), a nonprofit law firm that defends property rights nationwide.

“Six-figure fines for parking on your own property are shocking. The Florida Constitution’s Excessive Fines Clause was designed to stop precisely this sort of abuse—to prevent people from being fined into poverty for trivial violations,” said IJ Senior Attorney Ari Bargil. “The court’s refusal to hear Sandy’s case and clarify the constitution’s protections from run-away government fines is a disservice to all Floridians.”

Sandy, her two driving-age children, and her sister all own cars so they can get to their jobs or school. When all four cars were parked in the driveway, sometimes one of them would have two tires on the lawn. For that, the city fined Sandy $250 per day for nearly a year. And in addition to the parking violations, the city insists that Sandy also owes money for two other similarly trivial violations—cracks in the driveway and a fence that fell over during a storm. 

While Sandy is protected from foreclosure by Florida’s homestead exception, the fines effectively rob Sandy of the equity she has built up in her home and make it practically impossible to sell and afford another home. 

“It’s outrageous that the Florida Supreme Court won’t consider whether the constitution protects Floridians from ruinous fines,” said Sandy. “Cities shouldn’t be allowed to wreck lives over trivial violations.”