I took the advice given here, hire an attorney. The attorney I hired was recommended by 1 attorney who had a conflict of interest the other is a sargent of Lee County Law Enforcement. They both told me that the attorney they recommended was not scared of anything. Our initial meeting was in May of 2005. He said that first we would sue the neighbor and he would have to remedy the problem. He told me that he would send a letter to my neighbor giving him X amount of time to remedy the situation, If the neighbor failed to fix the problem he would file a complaint and ask for an injunction. He did neither. I paid him what he requested $200 to file the complaint. In August I was served papers naming me as the defendant and the neighbor as the plaintiff. I did not think it was that big a deal. My attorney asked for a written closing argument, it was agreed by both parties and the judge. The neighbors closing statement did mention that if I had damages that I would have been the plaintiff.
I would have requested a jury trial due to the relationship of those involved. Get this, My neighbor filed a complaint against me because I put up a privacy curtain 3 ft. my side of the property line. His claim was that he could not enjoy his property. He made me 2 out of court offers. The first one was he would buy me out for 18,000. The second offer was that he would install a drain tile on my side of the property line. I could not be home when he is doing the work. My attorney initially said the neighbors redevelopment was obviously a drainage nuisance. The second visit he stated that he did not think the neighbor could put a drain tile on his side. The 3rd visit he said the neughbor could do anything he wants at my expense and he did not want to take the case against the city. Is it odd that a plaintiff makes offers to settle out of court? I mentioned in one of my earlier post that I had 8 expert witnesses. By that 3 meant local contractors, a certified landscaper, a previous water-sewer maintainance man, a previous tenent of my home, a previous tenant of the neighbors home just to name a few. I did not pay these witnesses they offered to testify on my behalf. The neighbor had 2 witness, his brother who does not live in this town. The other was the previous owner of my property and the judge was wrong about what her statement was. I ordered transcripts of her testimony but several attorneys did not know why I would want them as the time for appeal has past. He also listed his daughter and son-in-law but they did not testify. By the time I received the ruling in the mail I only had 7 days to file an appeal. Not enough time to apply for a loan from my bank. I am disappointed in my attorneys failure to file my complaint and not notifying me that I had grounds for appeal. I brought this to his attention, his email reply comfirms that he was aware that I had grounds to appeal. I believe he threw me under the bus as the saying goes. I was also surprise to find that the case file at the court house has the judges decision, but none of the photos or witness testimony. Why is that?
