Florida City sued over excessive fines, constitutional violations

Largo, FL; May 13, 2025: The former owner of a small, multi-unit rental property filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the steep fines Largo levied against him that ultimately cost him his property and most of his life savings. Recent reporting from the Miami Herald shows that Florida cities may be using similar fines to foreclose on properties and pad their budgets. 

Don Bourgeois’s lawsuit claims City of Largo officials violated the federal Constitution’s prohibition on excessive fines when he was hit with $250 daily accruing fines—eventually totaling almost $600,000—for minor code violations. 

In addition to the excessive fines, Bourgeois is also suing over the unreasonable deadline that Floridians have to challenge such penalties—just 30 days from the order imposing the daily fines. In other words, under Florida’s laws, Bourgeois could only challenge the excessiveness of the nearly $600,000 fine when the total fine was still only $7,500.  

“You shouldn’t lose your entire property over minor issues. The Constitution makes it clear that fines can’t be wildly out of proportion to the offense they remedy,” said Johanna Talcott, attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. “Florida’s short time to challenge such fines adds insult to injury. Thirty days is an incredibly short window to protest fines that can accrue for years and wipe out your life savings.” 

Bourgeois was originally cited in 2015 for minor code violations – including missing roof shingles, an inoperable heater in a unit, an inoperable vehicle on the property, and a handful of other minor issues. By the time the City collected on the massive debt in 2022, all of the code violations had been fixed. 

The case is DJB Rentals, LLC v. City of Largo, Florida.