OCALA — The State Attorney's office has dropped charges against a 74-year-old woman who bit and kicked a deputy while she was being evicted from her home for not paying about $ 1,200 in homeowners association fees.

Anne Grove ws evicted after the homeowners association in her silver Meadows North subdivision foreclosed on her home and the home was sold at auction to an Ocala attorney. During the eviction April 28, authorities arrested Grove and charged her with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence.

Grove spent five days in the Marion county jail before she was released.

Late last week, the Ocala attorney who bought Grove's home at the auction returned the deed and keys to the widow.

"we dropped all charges against Mrs. Grove since May 3 and we are not pursuing it any farther," said State Attorney Brad King.

Meanwhile, the Marion County sheriff's office has received a list of items missing from Grove's home and will attempt to help her recover some of the belongings that were taken by passersby after she was evicted.

Sheriff Ed Dean has reviewed the incident and is satisfied that everything  about the eviction was done according to the law.

"It appears that everything was done by the book and we were directed by the court to go over there," he said.

With her husband diseased, Grove has no children or close relatives to rely on for support. In the aftermath of the incident, however, she has received help from the Salvation Army and neighbors, among others.

"I have no children and my nearest relative is my niece who lives in Jupiter, but I do not want to call her because of her troubles." Grove said. "My neighbors have been very helpful to me and I appreciate that. The only thing I need right now is reliable transportation."

Last month, Grove was involved in an automobile accident which damaged the left side of her GMC truck and slashed her tire. Her insurance company was going to repair her truck, the company could not locate Grove after the eviction.

"After her accident, we had no clue where she was," said Allstate agent Gary Norman, who said he tried calling her several times to follow up on her claim. "Only when I read the newspaper did I find out what was going on."

On Monday afternoon, Grove got a rental car from Allstate as part of her insurance claim.
"Our claim department was finally able to reach her, give her a car and someone will be over her house on Tuesday morning to inspect the truck," said Norman. "Once that is finished, then we'll determine where it needs to be taken to be fixed."

Mentally and physically, Grove is tired, but she vows to keep fighting. "I'm not ashamed... the people who did this should be ashamed," she said.

May 7, 2000 Documents show actions taken against Grove legal By Susan Latham Carr - Staff Writer © Copyright 2000 Starbanner.com

Ocala -- Anne Grove's house wa sold to the highest bidder in front of the Marion County courthouse on April 13 because she did not pay her homeowner's fees for five years.

The 74-year-old widow bit the deputy who tried to evict her her from the Silver Meadows North home and was thrown into jail.

While she was confined, the lawyers who bought her house put her belongings on the front lawn.

Her plight has drawn an outpouring of sympathy from neighbors, elected officials and other county residents. However, documents show the actions against Grove were all legal.

The declaration of Covenant for the Silver Meadows North Property Owners Association - the rules that Grove agreed to follow - states that, if fees are not paid, liens may be foreclosed on in the same way as mortgages can be, and the association may sue for a money judgment.

The entire incident could have been avoided if Grove paid the $ 300 annual fees on her home, which is valued at $151,083.

"I ran out of money," Grove said, when asked why she did not pay the fees.

The controversy dates to 1995, when she and her husband, James Grove, failed to pay their assessment. He died in 1997.

A lien was placed on her home in 1997.

Apparently, she had arranged a settlement with the homeowners' association and was making payments but, according to court records, that stopped sometime in 1998.

The fees, interest late charges and attorney's fees began to accumulate over the years.

Grove ignored the letters, summons and notices of hearings that were being sent to her throughout 1999 by the court and the homeowners' association's lawyer, William Allan King of Gilligan, King and Gooding.

On Jan.5, 2000, Fifth Judicial Circuit Judge Jack Singbush ordered the foreclosure and sale of Grove's home to pay the Property Owners' Association $ 3,986.77.

Of that, $900 was for unpaid homeowner fees. The remainder was broken down as follows: $ 473,77 in interest fees charged at 18 percent a year; $ 730 in late charges; $ 1,767.50 for attorneys fees at $ 175 an hour; clerk fees of $ 95,50; and service fees of $ 20.

The sale of Grove's home did not go smoothly. It took two attempts.

King placed two advertisements about the sale in the Voice of South Marion, a weekly newspaper in Belleview with a 1998 circulation of 2,115.

On Feb.17, the homeowner's association started the bidding at $ 4,100. Then John Maze and Dean and Dean vied for the property, with Maze being the successful bidder at $ 40,000. Maze paid the 5 percent deposit of $ 2,000, and was required to pay the remaining $ 38,000 by the end of the day. 
Maze, who is out of the country and could not be reached for comment, did not pay the balance.

Richard Butler, deputy clerk in Clerk of the Circuit Court's office who conducted the auction, said Maze told him that he had concern about the mortgage on the property.
Whoever bought the property would be responsible for the $ 98,000 mortgage Grove recorded in March 1996.

The $ 2,000 fee Maze paid was turned back to the court which ordered it split as follows: $ 40 to readvertise the new sale date, and $ 175 for attorney fees to prepare for the resale.

The $ 1,785 balance went to the homeowners' association as credit against the $ 3,986.77 ordered by the court. So, now the amount owed the homeowners' association was down to $ 2,201.77.

King advertised the second sale in the Voice of South Marion.

On April 13, the homeowners' association began bidding at $ 2,300. This time, Dean and Dean was the lone bidder and bought the property for $ 2,400. They assumed the responsibility for the mortgage. The property was put in the name of David E. Midgett, trustee, an attorney with the firm.

On april 26, Judge Singbush gave Midget the legal right to take the home from Grove. a copy of that writ of possession was sent to Grove.

Midgett refused to comment.

On april 27, the writ was posted on Grove's door by sheriff's deputy Pete Medico.

Grove refused to leave and was arrested for resisting an officer with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer because she hit and bit the officer.

"I feel badly about this", Judge Singbush said. "Sometimes I am asked to do very hard things. My personal feelings are not supposed to become involved and, quite frankly, there are some laws I don't agree with. But you didn't elect me king. You elected me judge."

"They had tried to work with her for six years," Singbush said. "She decided that this was the way she wanted to handle it."

But did they have to foreclose on Grove's home?

"They could have done everything from doing nothing to doing this," Singbush said. "They could have just let it sit there and let it gain interest at 10 percent. That's a pretty good investment. They could have taken her car and sold it to the highest bidder." Or , he added, they could have taken a piece of her property, such as her television, "just the same as a holder of any money judgment."

King, the homeowner association's attorney, said foreclosures happen  every day. Banks do it every day, he said.

"No one has told me Mrs. Grove has not had the financial ability to pay".

He said that if the court had any indication that Grove was incompetent, the case would have been refereed to a guardianship program. He said his conversation with her led him to believe she is competent.

King did not recommend the association sue for a judgment on Grove's vehicle because there are "all kinds of exemptions under Florida law that may keep you from collecting on it."

Instead, he recommended foreclosure.

When the house was sold, the association was paid in full, incl. the homeowners' fee for 2000.

"This was the only realistic option for collecting the money," King said.

"The whole purpose was not to take her house, but to encourage her to pay her assessment."