In what has been a multi- year saga, the city of Tampa, Florida is suing the owner of a condemned manufactured home community for millions in code violation fees.

According to SaintPetersBlog, nearly six years ago GreenPark Residences obtained a neglected 18-unit community in the city, and since then, officials with the City of Tampa have been at odds with Rosario C. “Ross” Scopelliti, 51, who owns GreenPark and has allegedly done whatever he can to legally avoid necessary repairs and maintenance on the homes there.

In 2012, city officials had condemned 17 of 18 of the homes in the community, and had to relocate nearly two-dozen residents.

And, it appears that at the same time, Scopelliti was working to get the city to pay him.

Scopelliti has filed for bankruptcy protection, and filed a 15-count federal lawsuit against the city in April 2014 for “inverse condemnation.”

In the suit, Scopelliti accused the city of interfering with his leases and undermining his business by offering his tenants $1,500 each for relocation costs.

He pointed out that once the city condemned the homes in the community, residents stopped paying rent, and that the city used selective code enforcement against him.

After the U.S. Middle District of Florida court ruled against him, Scopelliti continued his battle by filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals, which affirmed the District court’s ruling at the end of January.

The ruling then set the stage for a suit filed February 6th in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, where Tampa says GreenPark owes more than $13 million in unpaid code violation liens issued in 2011.

The city is now seeking to foreclose on GreenPark.

Per SaintPetersBlog, Scopelliti is a Canadian native and has previously sued a local government for condemning housing he owned, including the city of St. Petersburg, Florida in a similar case in 2001.

The Daily Business News has covered a number of stories of so-called “bad actors,” including a recent case in Chapmanville, West Virginia. That story is linked here. ##

 

(Image credits are as shown above.)

 

Submitted by RC Williams to the Daily Business News for MHProNews.