SOURCE: PAYOUT WORTH MILLIONS TO HOMEOWNER CLAIMING DISCRIMINATION. BUT INSIDERS QUESTION THAT REPORT.
UPDATE: FEDERAL MAGISTRATE JUDGE ORDERS ALL PARTIES TO COURT MONDAY. ANGRY.
BY: SEVEN BRIDGES BUREAU | BocaNewsNow.com
UPDATE MONDAY, MARCH 13 at 6:10 p.m: The settlement amount is confirmed at $1M for Ms. LaGrasso.
UPDATE: 5:18 p.m. — To clarify — it is believed that any payout will be covered by the Seven Bridges HOA insurance company, NOT homeowners. This was unintentionally unclear in a previous paragraph.
UPDATE: 4:57 p.m. — Insiders suggest that reports that the plaintiff, Deborah LaGrasso, received any significant settlement are incorrect. As is often the case in the hours after a settlement announcement, there are now conflicting reports: those who believe Ms. LaGrasso settled for several million dollars, and those who believe the only money to be paid by the Seven Bridges HOA insurance company will be for attorney fees. This is a developing story.
UPDATE 4:40 p.m. Sunday, March 12, 2023: The federal magistrate judge, clearly angry with counsel in this case, has ordered all parties to appear in court on Monday morning and has threatened to continue with trial. Here is what Federal Magistrate Judge William Matthewman wrote late Sunday:
PAPERLESS ORDER: This matter is before the Court upon the Joint Notice of Settlement [DE 279] just filed by the parties in this case. However, it is now the afternoon of Sunday, March 12, 2023, and the Jury Trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 13, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. At least 40 prospective jurors have been summoned by the Clerk to appear tomorrow morning for jury selection. In light of this fact, the parties and their counsel are ORDERED to be present in Court at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, March 13, 2023, to address the settlement and the timing of their filing of a Stipulation for Dismissal with Prejudice. The Court will address the parties and their counsel on Monday morning, and if the fact that this case has fully and completely settled is ratified on the record by the parties and their counsel, the Court shall then cancel the jury trial. In the event the fact that this case has fully and completely settled is not ratified on the record by the parties and their counsel on Monday morning, March 13, 2023, the jury trial shall start as scheduled on March 13, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. Moreover, pursuant to S.D. Fla. L.R. 47.1, the Court will address the taxation of juror costs upon the parties. Signed by Magistrate Judge William Matthewman on 3/12/2023. (cpe)
DELRAY BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2023 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The federal discrimination lawsuit pitting a homeowner in the Delray Beach community of Seven Bridges against a former board of directors settled Sunday afternoon.
Very preliminary information that is completely subject to change suggests that Deborah LaGrasso will receive millions of dollars from the community’s homeowner’s association. The settlement, according to the preliminary information, suggests that the HOA’s insurance company will pay out the policy limit, believed to be between $2M and $5M. LaGrasso sought $7M in the suit that has continued for three years.
The suit centers on allegations that the Seven Bridges Board of Directors — in the first years of the community which dates back roughly to 2017 — discriminated against Ms. LaGrasso who is not Jewish by fining and sanctioning her for allegedly poor behavior. Another homeowner, who is Jewish, also allegedly displayed ongoing poor behavior and was not sanctioned. That second homeowner — in a recorded phone call — told Ms. LaGrasso to move to a “Klan” community that is not “80 percent Jewish.”
Several homeowners, speaking on the condition of anonymity, suggested they would sue individual members of the board of directors that led to the lawsuit if community funds were used to pay the claim. They allege gross misconduct by the board, and suggest those members could be held personally responsible. Whether board members could be held personally liable for this claim is questionable, at best, according to attorneys speaking with BocaNewsNow.com.
This is a developing story. Read the settlement notification just filed with the federal court system, below. Trial was set to start Monday.
