A Florida resident may lose his home due to too tall grass in the yard.

A Florida resident was faced with a home foreclosure due to fines for grass not trimmed in the yard.

Фото: Depositphotos

The city administration of Dunedin evicts Jim Ficken from his home because he received more than 29 000 dollars in fines for uncut grass in the yard. According to the rules of the city, the height of grass in the courtyards should not exceed 10 inches (25 cm), writes Fox News.

69-year-old Fikken and his lawyers disagree with the decision of the city authorities and sued the city, calling the fines for an untidy lawn offensive and excessive.

On the subject: In New York, homeowners terrorizing tenants due to non-payment will be punished

Fikken and his lawyers said that the man received all these fines last summer during the 57-day period, while he was not in the city, dealing with the property of his late mother. According to them, Fikken hired a friend to cut the grass, but he died unexpectedly. According to Fikken, at the moment the height of the grass in his yard meets the requirements of the city authorities.

“The grass did what grass usually does—it grew. And the inspector saw that it was more than the 10 inches the city allows, and Jim was officially on the hook,” said Andrew Ward, one of Ficken's attorneys.

Fikken, who retired and lives on a fixed income, was fined 500 dollars for each day until the grass was cut. This resulted in a total of about 30 thousand dollars. He claims that he did not know about the fines until the situation became critical.

On the subject: In Colorado, a landlord will pay $ 675 thousand for refusing to rent a room to Muslims

7 May, the city began the procedure for the collection of fines by selling the house Fikken.

“We argue in our lawsuit that unlimited fines are, in fact, unconstitutional,” said Ari Bargil, another lawyer for the retiree.

“In February, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the 8th Amendment prohibits cities from imposing excessive fines,” Ward explained.

Fikken and his team of lawyers said they were ready to bring the case to the Supreme Court, if necessary.

"It's outrageous ... to be fined that amount for failing to cut the grass on time," Ficken said.

“Mr. Fikken was punished for repeated violations of the rules of the city on the property he rented. On Tuesday, 7 of May 2019, the Dunedin Executive Council authorized the city prosecutor’s office to file a claim on the loss of their right to purchase this property after they failed to agree with Fikken, ”the city said. To comment on the lawsuit Fikken administration refused.

Read also on ForumDaily:

20 will take a good area in the US for those who are looking for housing

10 Brokerage Tricks for Renting New York

How to terminate the rental agreement without penalty

Five cities that will pay you to live there

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.