Both sides in a lawsuit challenging the legality of a proposed rent control initiative on Orange County’s Nov. 8 ballot have filed motions for reimbursement of attorney fees with the Fifth District Court of Appeal.
Florida Realtors and the Florida Apartment Association are appealing a Ninth Judicial Circuit ruling in September that rejected a request for a preliminary injunction to keep the measure off the Orange County ballot. The ballot measure would impose a cap of 9.8% on multifamily rental units to help cope with what county officials say is a “housing emergency.”
In an Oct. 7 motion, the appellants asked the court for the conditional reimbursement of attorney fees and costs, arguing that the county advanced the measure even though it is at odds with the state Constitution.
The motion quotes Florida law as stating, “If a civil action is filed against a local government to challenge the adoption or enforcement of a local ordinance on the grounds that it is expressly preempted by the state Constitution or by state law, the court shall assess and award reasonable attorney fees and costs and damages to the prevailing party.”
In turn, the appellants are entitled to a conditional award of appellate attorney fees and costs if they prevail, their motion argues.
In his September ruling, Judge Jeffrey Ashton of the state’s Ninth Judicial Circuit concluded it would be in the best interest of Orange County residents to let them vote on the measure even though it is “contrary to established law.” In its original complaint, the Florida Apartment Association argued the county had failed to satisfy its burden of proof about the existence of a “housing emergency which is so grave as to constitute a serious menace to the general public."
Attorneys for Orange County, however, also filed a motion for attorney fees, arguing that the Florida statute cited by the appellants does not apply because the county is not explicitly barred by state law or the Florida Constitution from adopting the rent-cap measure.
“... Appellants’ challenge is based on allegations that the county failed to make the proper findings under the statute, not that it is expressly preempted from adopting such an ordinance,” the county’s attorneys argue in their motion.
Ashton’s stated belief that the county’s action contradicted existing law led the Florida Apartment Association to file an appeal, according to Chip Tatum, the association’s executive vice president.
“It is for this reason, among many others, that we have filed an appeal with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal and will continue to vigorously defend the rights of our members and all property owners in Orange County,” Tatum told the Florida Record in an email.