The City of West Palm Beach, Inc. v. Haver
Neighbors sued the City of West Palm Beach seeking an injunction and declaratory judgment compelling the City to investigate and enforce its zoning ordinance against a neighbor allegedly operating an unlicensed group home. Resolving certified conflict between the Fourth District and Detournay (3d DCA) and Chapman (2d DCA), the Florida Supreme Court held that Boucher v. Novotny does not authorize a claim for injunctive relief compelling a municipality to enforce a zoning ordinance against a third party, and declined to create such a remedy.
Key facts
- Neighbors sued the City of West Palm Beach seeking an injunction and declaratory judgment to compel the City to investigate and enforce its zoning ordinance against a neighboring property allegedly operating an unlicensed group home.
- The trial court dismissed the neighbors' complaint, and the Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed, creating a certified conflict with decisions from the Second and Third District Courts of Appeal regarding whether such injunctive relief claims are viable.
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Why it matters
This decision definitively forecloses a common tactic by aggrieved neighbors and community associations: suing a municipality to force code or zoning enforcement against a third party. Practitioners representing local… — full analysis with a trial
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