HOA Child Abuse In Clearwater Ended by Judge
One of the most tragic child abuse cases in the country has been ended by a judge in Clearwater, Florida.
When Kimberly Broffman was just six months old, her grandparents took her into their home becase the infant’s mom was a drug abuser. The problem was that her grandparents, Jimmy and Judie Stottler, lived in the Lakes Homeowners Association which was restricted to residents aged 55 and older. The Lakes HOA wouldn’t give in. They wanted the kid gone.
But the massive recession hit, and the Stottlers couldn’t sell their home. They discovered, to their horror, that there’s no institution on earth as hateful and as unforgiving as and HOA scorned.
In 2007, the HOA filed a lawsuit against the elderly couple and the little girl. The only saving grace was that Florida attorney, Robert Eckard, took on the case for free (proving that there really are angels in Heaven), and after five years and $200,000 in pro bono work, the family won. The Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge ordered the Lakes Homeowners Association to back off. No, they would not be allowed to send over the sheriff and throw the child out onto the street.
There’s really not much good news in the nation’s HOA movement these days. But when good happens, you’ll read it here.
