Fruitland Park commissioners will consider a proposal Thursday night to settle a lawsuit against the owner of a shuttered barbecue restaurant.
T.D. Burke, owner of the defunct Burke’s BBQ on County Road 466A, has through his attorney proposed a settlement with the city that would end an ongoing battle over a 2012 promise the restauranteur made to hook up to the city’s water and sewer systems, install a fire hydrant and pay significant impact fees. At the time, the initial source for fire protection at the eatery was a hose running from a swimming pool at a house located next door.
Burke was initially served with the lawsuit in September 2019 over the agreement that stated he would have six months to take care of the commitment once sewer and water hookups became available. In 2018, the city sent Burke two letters giving him until Oct. 6 to take care of the issue. City Manager Gary La Venia said Burke then paid him a visit and “raised holy hell.”
“He said absolutely no way am I doing this,” La Venia said. “And he didn’t. He just didn’t want to pay the money.”
The settlement offer calls for Burke to:
- Decommission the septic tank at the restaurant in accordance with Florida code;
- Disconnect the former restaurant building from private well(s) at the location closest to the well(s)/property line; and
- Pay $8,000 to the city to be used for any purpose.
In addition, re-occupation or use of the property would trigger the need to connect to city utilities and the obligation to install a fire hydrant. After the conditions are met, the city will file a dismissal of the lawsuit, a memo to commissioners from City Attorney Anita Geraci-Carver and La Venia states.
In October, attorney Lindsay Holt, of Crawford, Modica & Holt, had requested that the lawsuit be tossed out because of what appeared to be a technicality. She claimed the suit wasn’t valid largely because the city’s beef was with Burke’s Bar-B-Que Co., not Burke himself. She claimed that Burke signed the document in his capacity as a shareholder/owner of the business, not as an individual.
Holt also asked the judge to dismiss the complaint with prejudice, which would have amounted to a final judgment and prevented the city from amending the suit. Holt said any attempt by the city to “overcome this deficiency” or amend the complaint “would be futile.”
But in August the city scored a victory against Burke when a Lake County judge threw out the request for summary judgment. At the time, Ceraci-Carver labeled the judge’s ruling a victory and said the suit would proceed through the court system.
The initial decision to file suit against Burke was led by Commissioner Patrick DeGrave, who lives in The Villages portion of the city. He said in June 2019 that it was a fundamental issue for him and had nothing to do with who owned the property.
“You signed an agreement, honor the agreement,” he said at an August 2019 commission meeting. “I think that’s the message the city has to send any property owner. You come in and make a deal with us, expect to live up to the deal.”
In July 2019, Burke’s BBQ announced on its Facebook page that the restaurant would be closing. It followed up with posts announcing a going-out-of-business sale where the public and other restaurant owners were invited to attend and purchase supplies and equipment that was still inside the building.
