Neighborhood board bans resident’s 12-inch-long cross from lawn. 5 years later, it’s only made him $70,000 richer

Neighbors can sue homeowners over petty issues, and it is gradually becoming the norm rather than the exception. The neighborhood body at The Village, Florida, wasn't too thrilled about a 12-inch cross that was placed by a homeowner on his lawn. Anderson and his wife, who sued the community for banning them for "violating community standards regarding lawn ornaments," have now won their lawsuit, per Wesh News' November 24 report.

The story began in 2020, when Wayne and his wife Bonnie Anderson were served with a notice by the Village Community Development District 8 as the couple violated community standards regarding lawn ornaments. According to Anderson, someone had anonymously complained about their tall white cross placed in front of their yard. When he received the notice, Anderson's first reaction was that it might be an "April Fool's Day joke." He told Wesh, "We call it a religious icon; they call it yard art, like the same with pink flamingos." Stating that the complaint was a deliberate attempt to target him and his family, Anderson asserted that the notice felt like "a form of harassment."

Tired of the disagreement, he decided to escalate the matter legally and filed a lawsuit. However, the lawsuit dragged on for five and a half years. Eventually, Anderson found a way out. He repositioned the cross, this time setting it inside a custom-made planter his attorney helped him obtain. However, he noted that crosses were not a rare sight in the neighborhood and pointed at crosses displayed in other homes in the surrounding area. With the planter in place, he finally managed to display his cross that's still visible. "It's visible, it’s fine. I always wanted to just display the cross," he shared. The lawsuit pushed him into running for a seat on the Community Development District board, and he won.

He campaigned on bringing transparency to the anonymous complaint system that first fueled the dispute. "Could be bullying, could be harassment, whatever their motives are, you will never know because you cannot ask them," he said. "We are all retired. We are down here not to fight out legal lawsuits but to enjoy this beautiful weather, these amenities, what The Villages offers," he added. Surprisingly, the lawsuit came to an end this month when the district's insurer agreed to pay the Andersons $70,000. He also revealed that the board paid an additional $173,000 in legal fees. "I want us to learn from this mistake and move forward. We should not be doing this," he said. "When you start telling people what to do in their religious life, that doesn't go over too well," Anderson added.

However, the district framed the judgment differently, saying that the Andersons "brought the property in question into compliance with the District's Rule and deed restrictions and agreed to remain in compliance under the settlement agreement." While the district noted that it will continue "upholding the aesthetics and property values of their district by consistently enforcing all adopted Rules and deed restrictions, including the prohibition of lawn ornaments," Anderson shared, "It is a form of special-purpose government; this is not an HOA. So when the government comes and tries to suppress your religious freedoms, or your freedom of speech, or any constitutional right, that is troubling."

A 2006 report by Brian J. Fleming explored how private homeowners' associations restrict residents from displaying political signs and argues that these rules effectively limit a core form of political expression. The author argues that since HOAs are classified as private entities rather than government bodies, constitutional free-speech protections do not apply, which leaves millions of homeowners with fewer expressive rights than the general public.

More on Scoop Upworthy

HOA kept complaining that woman's lawn was not green enough — so she complied maliciously

HOA tried to ban wheelchair ramp husband built for his wife — and got taken to court

People are sharing the most bizarre HOA rules they've encountered and a few will make your jaw drop