- April 19, 2024
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A motion filed with the 12th Circuit Court seeks to stop the Longboat Key Police Department from confiscating a Cedars Court property it alleges was used to commit felony video voyeurism.
Wayne Natt, who faces four third-degree felony charges of video voyeurism, asserts in a 19-page document written by his attorney Michael Gelety, that his claim to homestead on 623 Cedars Court condominium exempts the property from the seizure and forfeiture Longboat law enforcement has sought since November.
The Florida constitution prohibits “forced sale under process of any court” on property claimed as a homestead and “no judgment, decree or execution shall be a lien thereon.”
Longboat Police seized the property Nov. 15 by means of a claim that the property (not the owner) is in a pending lawsuit. That means if Natt sold his condo with such a claim filed against it, the new owner would be subject to any outcome of that pending litigation.
“Despite the clear and definitive Constitutional prohibition against seizing, encumbering and attempting to forfeit a homestead property, on November 15, 2017, the [Longboat Key Police Department] improperly, unconstitutionally and illegally encumbered Natt’s home,” a Feb. 8 motion argued.
Natt is asking the court to order the town to pay $1,500 for a bond Natt paid for litigation, his attorney fees and any damages to his property in depreciation of value or loss of sale for the property.
This submittal by the owner of 623 Cedars Court, the property acting as a defendant in this civil lawsuit brought by the Longboat Key Police Department, follows another, much shorter motion filed in late November.
A homestead exemption may be revoked if a property owner shows “intent” to “abandon” the property, according to the Florida Bar Journal. According to Florida Statute, that means renting a property for more than 30 cumulative days a year for two consecutive years.
At issue: two consecutive years. Scott Tussing, exemption director for the Manatee County property appraiser's office, said violation of homestead happens only if a property is rented for more than 30 days for two years in a row.
That means the 67 days in 2017 that Natt rented his property on Air BnB, according to police, is not a violation of homestead unless he rents his Cedars Court property for more than 30 days in 2018, Tussing said.
“As of September 5, 2017, Owner/claimant Natt has stopped his occasional transient rental of his home,” according to the motion.
And even if he were to continue renting his property, Manatee County appraiser would have a hard time knowing, Tussing said. Other than a property owner registering for a bed tax, the only way the appraiser can know if one of the more than 80,000 homesteaded properties in Manatee County is being rented is through a tip from a town or neighbor.
“For homestead, unless one of those things occur, it’s hard to know,” Tussing said.
Short-term rentals are illegal on Longboat, according to Longboat Key Police Department.
Longboat police have sought seizure and forfeiture of 623 Cedars Court based on allegations that Natt used his condo, which law enforcement officials say he rented on Air BnB since November 2015, to film people nude without their consent. Police said they have found videos time stamped from as early as 2008.
State laws give law enforcement authority to take property it believes was used to commit a felony, which could not have been committed without the property, if the agency can prove that beyond a reasonable doubt.
Some 55 tenants occupied his property from then until Sept. 29, when Natt was arrested and banned from the site, according to police. The 56-year-old Longboat resident has been charged with four third-degree felonies and could see more charges within the next couple weeks, LKPD Detective Lieutenant Robert Bourque said.
The claim for dismissal is scheduled for a hearing April 3 at the Manatee County Judicial Center.
