Stoneybrook, CDD lawsuit continues

HERITAGE HARBOUR — A lawsuit over the validity of special assessments imposed upon the Stoneybrook Golf Club will continue through the legal system.

Judge Peter Dubensky, of the 12th Judicial Circuit, on May 4 denied a motion by the Heritage Harbour South Community Development District to dismiss with prejudice the complaint against it, although Stoneybrook failed to meet a court-imposed deadline.

“The court was telling the defendants in the case to go forward, so the plaintiffs in the case are going to go forward,” said David Wilcox, attorney for Stoneybrook Investors.

Stoneybrook Investors, the entity that owns the golf course had filed a complaint December 2011 alleging CDD assessments, which had increased by about $35,000 over the previous year, were unfair and may be illegal. In March, Stoneybrook Investors obtained special legal counsel for the case, prompting dismissal of a motion for declaratory judgment and giving Stoneybrook Investors 30 days to file an amended complaint. The CDD asked to dismiss the case in late April, when Stoneybrook Investors failed by two days to meet a court-imposed deadline for filing an amended complaint.

Although Dubensky did not grant the CDD’s motion to dismiss, he wrote the CDD was entitled to fees for filing the motion and costs associated with arguing the complaint.

The CDD was due May 14, after the East County Observer went to press, to file an answer to the Stoneybrook’s amended complaint. Harllee said one of the parties will have to ask a judge to set a final hearing on the matter for the case to move forward.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].