Vacation Rentals Claims

On April 28, 2020, our office mailed a letter to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on behalf of Jeff and Gina Paglialonga and Teeming Vacations Rentals, LLC, to notify him of claims that the constitutional rights of vacation rental owners have been infringed upon by his COVID-19 emergency orders (Executive Order Numbers 20-87, 20-103, 20-111, and 20-112). A copy of our letter can be accessed here. We have since received a great deal of interest from vacation rental owners about how our firm may be able to assist them in claims they may have to seek compensation for lost revenue due to the Governor's orders. On May 13, 2020, we were hired by Pat and Ken Ross and we sent another letter to Governor DeSantis with a specific demand on their behalf. A copy of that letter can be accessed here. Because of receiving so many inquiries, we are posting this information on our website to summarize the current status now that most Florida counties have reopened vacation rentals.

Currently our office is evaluating the legal options available to vacation rental owners with relation to filing claims for money damages based on the legal theories summarized in the letters we have sent to the governor. One of the many factors for us to consider is how we can provide our services in the most effective but also the most economical way possible. Pursuing such a case will be expensive and for any one owner to shoulder that cost alone would be extremely burdensome. Also, if a single owner were to obtain a favorable outcome which then provided precedential value for the remainder of the industry, it is possible that the indirect value of the litigation could far exceed the cost of the legal services provided and could open the door for many owners to be able to sue for money damages. One case on behalf of vacation rental owners has been filed in Federal Court in Tampa and we are monitoring that case.

Thus, on behalf of our clients Jeff and Gina Paglialonga, Teeming Vacations Rentals, LLC, and the others who may be designated, we are sharing this information that they are seeking donations to an account they have set up to fund their efforts to challenge the Governor's order and sue for money damages. They are seeking $500 contributions from vacation rental owners. If enough money is raised to file a lawsuit we will consider handling it. In order to make a donation, you can do so at the GoFundMe page set up by Jeff and Gina Paglialonga and Teeming Vacations Rentals, LLC using the following link.

We have received several inquiries about filing a class action on behalf of vacation rental owners to challenge the Governor's orders. A class action is a type of lawsuit where one or more class plaintiffs sue on behalf of all the members of a class. For a variety of reasons, we do not intend to file a class action at this time.

With that said, if our firm were to file a lawsuit, we may include several vacation rental owners as plaintiffs in the litigation and anyone who wants to be a named plaintiff should let us know. We would use our discretion to recommend the individuals or companies to be named as co-plaintiffs. Our intention is to have a small group of plaintiffs who have different vacation rental interests, but without the need to comply with class action requirements for an initial lawsuit.

Donors who are not named as Plaintiffs will not be our clients and therefore will not have control over our work, nor will they be entitled to access to confidential attorney-client communications or attorney work-product. Likewise, they will not have a direct financial interest in the matter or any recovery unless a separate engagement letter is entered into with them.

If you are not interested in making a donation but would instead like to hire our firm to file an independent challenge of the Governor's orders seeking money damages, please contact us and we will be happy to set up a paid consultation with you. Our firm will not handle these claims on a 100% contingency fee basis, but we will consider a flat fee plus a contingency fee. We expect the total fees and expenses to most likely exceed $30,000 per owner if cases are limited to certain claims for money damages. We do not expect that the Paglialongas will be able to raise that much money. The Paglialongas intend to do whatever they can with any donations made to them to continue their efforts to allow vacation rental owners to seek compensation and stay open for business.

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