Denny Dorcey of Oakland Park, Florida, can fix nearly anything.
He’s rebuilt cars destined for the junkyard and even transformed his foreclosure home, purchased ten years ago, into a showpiece. He added custom cabinets reminiscent of the ones in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and keeps his 1970s oven in perfect working order.
But a recent letter from the city of Oakland Park presented a problem he couldn’t fix.
“The letter said that I owe the city over $1 million for code violation fines from the time before I bought the house,” Dorcey told 7News Miami reporter Patrick Fraser.
According to Dorcey, the letter said he was responsible for $1,097,400 in fines tied to four minor violations committed by the previous owner. These petty violations — such as overgrown weeds and trash in the carport — had grown over the years due to accumulated penalties. Now Dorcey on the hook.
Dorcey said that when he bought the foreclosure, he used a title company that assured him there were no liens or fines on the property. He also claimed the city never mentioned the fines until now.
“They were clearing our old files and they came across my file and that’s how this started.” Dorcey explained.
After receiving the letter, Dorcey contacted the city, explaining he couldn’t afford to pay more than a million dollars in fines. A city official suggested he negotiate a settlement with their collection agency, but Dorcey wasn’t having it. Instead, he contacted Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser from 7News Miami to ask: Can the city legally do this?
According to 7News legal expert Howard Finkelstein the answer is nuanced.
“Yes, they can,” he said. “Government agencies do not have to notify a new owner about the fines, allowing them to grow.
“But in this case, the city cannot do this to Dorcey because he bought the property in foreclosure and that wiped out any existing liens and fines that the city had.”
Thankfully, 7News reported that the city removed the fines after reporter Patrick Fraser spoke with city officials.
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