RIVERVIEW — A Hillsborough County homeowner is speaking out after she was arrested and spent a week in jail for what started out as HOA violations involving her lawn.

This is a story that came to us from viewer Irena Green, the woman who was arrested following an escalating battle with her homeowners’ association over what started out as minor violations of her HOA’s covenants.
   

It all started with notices from the HOA management company, The Trowbridge Company, Inc.

“The grass has started turning brown. So then they started sending notes. And it went from the grass being brown to there’s a dent in my garage,” Green said.

Green was also cited for having a dirty mailbox, which was covered in mildew due to shade and moisture from that same tree.

“You just have to come out and take a brush and clean it,” she said.

Green was also put on notice for having a commercial cargo van, similar to other ones we observed in the neighborhood.

This is a private contract

More than 40 percent of Floridians live in a homeowners association or condominium owners association.

When they take ownership or rent the property, they agree to abide by the rules of those associations.

“This is a private contract that people choose to enter into,” said Stetson Law Schol Professor Paul Boudreaux. “Including what their lawn looks like, where they can park their cars, what color their houses can be. And the HOAs have the right to enforce this.”

After Green failed to respond to a request for mediation, the HOA filed a lawsuit against Green in Hillsborough County Civil Court.

The HOA alleged she violated the community appearance rules and demanded that she correct the violations.

Green represented herself in court, preparing a handwritten response to the lawsuit that was rejected by both the HOA and the judge.

The judge gave her an ultimatum during a hearing last July.

“My grass had to be brung up to par. He said you can get seed, you can do something, but you’ve got 30 days to get it corrected. So I said fine. He said if it’s not done in 30 days, you’re gonna go to jail,” Green said.

Irene said she corrected the violations.

“I sold my van to comply. My mailbox was cleaned to comply. I bought seeds and watered my grass to comply,” she said.

But Green missed her next court date.

She says she was not personally served a notice to appear at a hearing last August.

“I was supposed to receive documentation. Nothing was sent to my home. And I reached out to the courthouse several times to try to find out when was my court date,” Green said.

The judge signed an order last August holding Green in contempt of court.

He issued a warrant for her arrest at the request of the HOA’s attorney Francis Friscia.

“I think it’s pretty rare in a civil case for someone to have a contempt order,” Boudreaux said.
 

Seven days in Jail

Green was pulled over by a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputy on May 23 after picking up her 15-year-old daughter from cheerleading practice.

“He asked me can I get out. When I got out he said ‘Ms. Green, did you know that you have a warrant for your arrest?’” Green said.

She was handcuffed and taken to the Orient Road Jail.

At the jail, she got more bad news.

“There was no bond. So I couldn’t even go home to my family. I sat in there for seven days. Seven days in the jailhouse like a criminal,” Green said.

“To be incarcerated without bond is certainly an extreme measure and is pretty rare,” Boudreaux said.

Green described the humiliation of being fingerprinted and having her mug shot taken at the jail.

“It makes me feel horrible. I work hard to buy this home for me and my kids in a better neighborhood and environment and to be taken to jail and to be treated like that for brown grass at my own home... that’s horrible,” she said.

During her stay, the suburban mom says she avoided interactions with hardened criminals but did interact with a few inmates.

“One girl, she kind of came over and asked me like ‘Hey, what are you in here for?’ And I told her it was like for my grass. And she’s like ‘Oh grass, they should make that stuff legal’. She's thinking that I'm talking about weed and I'm talking about my front yard grass.

David Lehr is a Palm Beach attorney who represents homeowners in cases against HOAs.

His law partner wrote the bestselling book Bad HOA.

“You have an HOA who was quick to go after her and to use the full force that they are entitled to,” Lehr said.

We asked him if he had ever heard of a case where someone had gone to jail over HOA violations.

“Certainly, the judge had the right to do it. I think perhaps there could be more lenient remedies,” Lehr said.

Green’s sister-in-law, who is a paralegal, filed a petition six days after Green was incarcerated, requesting an emergency hearing.

Judge orders immediate release

“I went to court, and I had to be shackled from my hands to my feet,” Green said.

She said she was the only person in county civil court wearing a jail uniform.

Green’s relative sent pictures of the yard and other evidence to the judge, who was a different judge than the one who signed the arrest warrant last August.

Green says an attorney for the HOA opposed her release at the hearing.

“He says 'well, it hasn’t been resodded. The whole yard needs to be re-sodded. And she’s like not from those pictures I see. She’s like ‘No. I want her released immediately,’” Green said. “He wanted me to continue to sit in jail and not come home to my family.”

Green was released on the judge’s order after the paperwork cleared the next day.
 

Creek View HOA statement

We asked Creek View HOA attorney Francis Friscia about the case.

He did not have a comment, but emailed us the following statement on behalf of the Creek View HOA Board of Directors:

“Ms. Green received notices of violations. She disregarded them. Legal action was filed by the Association after she failed to accept the offer to mediate the matter, pre-suit, as is required before a lawsuit can be filed. See Fla. Stat. §720.311.

After suit was filed and final judgment was entered against her, Ms. Green showed up for the court hearing on July 11, 2024. Please see attached judgment and sentence. At the July 11 hearing, with Ms. Green present, another court date was set by the judge for August 19, 2024. She was instructed to comply with the requirements of the final judgment by August 19 and to report to the judge what was accomplished on August 19. Ms. Green failed to show up in court on August 19. Her failure to abide by the Court’s instruction led to the arrest warrant being issued. This is all explained in the attached judgment. These steps were taken by the Court due to Ms. Green’s failure to comply with the Court’s instructions. This is all public record.”

We called and left a business card at the Creek View HOA president’s home and called and emailed the HOA’s property management company at the time the violations were issued, the Trowbridge Company, Inc.

We didn’t hear back from the board president or the property manager.
 

“You need to follow the rules”

Legal experts say there are lessons to be learned.

“Sometimes they act in a petty manner, but if they decide that you need to do something, you need to follow the rules. And when a judge tells you to do something, you have to do it,” Boudreaux said.

“Take it seriously. Maybe consult an attorney or try your best to really understand the situation and to remedy it,” Lehr said.

“I definitely wish I would have hired a lawyer,” Green said.

The HOA board recently hired a new property management company to enforce its regulations.

That company started last month.