Appeals court: Marine can't be forced to sell Jupiter home in flag flap

The Associated Press
Posted March 23 2005, 6:45 PM EST

WEST PALM BEACH -- A retired Marine who has waged a five-year fight with his homeowners association over a flag pole won a battle Wednesday when an appeals court ruled his home can't be sold for lawyer fees. Foreclosure on George Andres' home in Jupiter had been scheduled for October 2003, but a trial judge delayed the action to give Andres time to appeal to the 4th District Court of Appeal. In Wednesday's 3-0 decision, the appeals court agreed with Andres, and his wife, Anna, that the Florida Constitution protects homes from forced sales except in very limited circumstances. And attorney fees are not on the list, Judge Fred Hazouri wrote. ``I'm glad to see we were able to get the laws to do what they were supposed to,'' Andres said. A trial judge had scheduled a foreclosure sale to allow the homeowners' association to collect more than $20,000 in legal fees that have been accruing in the case. The Indian Creek Phase 3B Homeowners Association permits flags flown only from brackets attached to house walls; Andres objected because the flag would have touched bushes in his yard. So he put up a 13-foot flagpole. Attorney General Charlie Crist, who helped in the case, called the ruling a ``tremendous victory, not only for George and Anna Andres, but for the concept of property rights in Florida.'' Andres' attorney, Barry Silver, said the ruling should encourage homeowners who are afraid to challenge their homeowners' associations because of the belief they could lose their homes. West Palm Beach attorney Steven Selz, who represents the homeowners association, did not return a phone call seeking comment. Andres' difficulties attracted attention in Tallahassee, where the Legislature passed a law allowing people to fly the American flag regardless of homeowner association rules. On Flag Day in 2002, Gov. Jeb Bush presented Andres a flag that had flown over the state Capitol and helped him raise it on the flagpole. But the new law did not help Andres in the foreclosure case because it was passed long after the lien was placed on his house. The underlying dispute over the flagpole is still in trial court but Andres, 68, has been flying his flag for the last three years under a temporary injunction. And he's got a bigger flagpole now than when he began --- 20 feet instead of 13. ``My flag still flies and it will never come down,'' Andres said.

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