CORTEZ – The legal filings continue in civil litigation pertaining to residential docks and boat lifts located along the man-made canal surrounding the Hunters Point development.
A preliminary hearing to be conducted by videoconferencing is scheduled on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 3:30 p.m. before 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Edward Nicholas.
In response to a 2021 dock permitting challenge initiated by MHC Cortez Village LLC, owners of the nearby Cortez Village Marina, Hunters Point developer Marshall Gobuty’s Cortez Road Investments & Finance Inc. (CRIF) ownership group filed a civil lawsuit on June 3, 2022 that named as defendants canal-side residential property owners Jonathan and Sheila Graham, Wendy and George Kokolis, Mark Ibasfalean, Jacquelyn Shepard, Mary Norman and Timothy Fitzpatrick. Since then, numerous legal filings have occurred but no hearings have been held.
According to the defendants’ cross notice of hearing recently filed on June 30, “Defendants Jonathan and Sheila Graham hereby provide notice that defendants George and Wendy Kokolis’ motion to dissolve Lis Pendens, or in the alternative require a Lis Pendens bond, will be presented to the court, together with the Graham’s motion to dissolve Lis Pendens or to require bond.”
According to the Jimerson Birr law firm website, “A lis pendens is a common tool used in Florida to put third parties on notice of a pending lawsuit against real estate. Property owners may not be able to sell, obtain financing or obtain title insurance until the lis pendens is removed.”
The lawsuit alleges the defendants are unlawfully maintaining docks and boat lifts in the privately-owned Hunters Point canal without the authorization of the canal owner. The lawsuit alleges many of the docks, boat lifts and other encumbrances located in the western portion of the canal extend more than 25% into the canal, which, if true, would violate Manatee County’s dock regulations.
The defendants deny the allegations and claim their docks and lifts are legally and properly permitted by Manatee County and do not exceed the 25% regulation.
In Aug. 2021, the Kokolis’ received a building permit from Manatee County to install a new boat lift for the residential structure they own at the westernmost end of the canal near the humpback bridge on 127th Street West.
In May 2022, Gobuty’s attorney, Susan Martin, sent a cease and desist letter to the Kokolis’ that said, “This letter is to advise you to immediately cease construction and to remove the works that you have already placed on my client’s private property. If you fail to do so, we will be forced to seek immediate injunctive relief and damages in circuit court.”
Two weeks later, CRIF filed the lawsuit against the Kokolis’ and the other defendants.
On June 12, 2023, the Kokolis’ attorney filed an amended answer and affirmative defense to the CRIF complaint. The affirmative defense document argues the Kokolis’ boat lift is legally permitted by the county. It also argues that in 2018, CRIF recorded a declaration of intent and clarification of rights with Manatee County that entitles the Kokolis’ and others to construct and maintain residential docks and lifts in the canal.
In that same court filing, the Kokolis’ attorney included a countersuit against CRIF that disputes Gobuty’s sole ownership of the canal and claims the Kokolis’ have preexisting property rights that allow a dock and/or boat lift to be installed in the canal.
Existing canal uses
While appearing before the Manatee County Commission in 2018 as part of the initial Hunters Point permitting process, Gobuty and his attorney stated he didn’t intend to restrict canal access for those who already had legally conforming docks and lifts located in the portion of the man-made canal he purchased when he bought the Hunters Point property in 2016.
Gobuty later told The Sun he would not have filed the lawsuit against the canal-side property owners had the marina not challenged his dock permit and claimed the canal was too narrow to safely accommodate the Hunters Point docks.
Gobuty said he has no desire to restrict anyone’s existing access to the canal as long as their docks, lifts and boats don’t extend more than 25% into the canal, and they don’t negatively impact the construction of the Hunters Points docks that are a key component of the Hunters Point development that includes the ongoing construction of 86 solar powered, energy self-sufficient homes.
Marina lawsuit
On May 26, 2022, CRIF filed a separate civil lawsuit against MHC Cortez Village LLC in response to the marina ownership group’s challenge of the state-issued environmental resource permit needed to install the Hunters Point docks.
When challenging the permit, MHC Cortez Village claimed the Hunters Point docks would impede the marina clients’ navigation of the canal by further narrowing the only direct water access from the marina to the Intracoastal Waterway to the west.
The unresolved lawsuit that CRIF filed against MHC Cortez Village seeks a court order that would prohibit marina clients from using the portion of the canal owned by CRIF, which extends from the edge of the marina’s boat basin to the western edge of the canal near the entrance to the Intracoastal Waterway. To date, no hearings have been scheduled in the CRIF/MHC Cortez Village lawsuit assigned to Manatee County Circuit Court Judge Charles Sniffen.
On May 23, 2023, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s governing board adopted a final order pertaining to the permit challenge. That ruling allows the district to issue CRIF the environmental resource permit needed to install 32 new boat slips and replace 17 existing slips along the canal.
On June 22, MHC Cortez Village filed an appeal of the governing board’s ruling and the appeal process could take a year or more to complete. Gobuty said the construction of the Hunters Point docks will remain on hold until the appeal process is completed.
While the appeal process plays out, the canal-side residential property owners remain caught in the ongoing dispute between the developer and the marina owners.
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