Properties of The Villages is seeking $425,000 in attorneys’ fees from rogue realtors who broke away and tried to compete in home sales in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
Last month, a judge ordered Jason Kranz, Christopher Day, Angela Kranz, Nanette Elliott, Angie Taylor and KD Premier Realty to pay $603,700 in damages to Properties of The Villages after a weeklong federal trial in Tampa. It was a major victory for The Villages which claimed the former sales representatives were in violation of independent contractor agreements that included non-compete clauses.
Attorney John Lauro, a well-known Fox News analyst who represented The Villages in the trial, on Monday filed a motion seeking the repayment of $425,000 in legal fees.
In the motion, Lauro argued that the once highly successful Properties of The Villages representatives “never accepted responsibility” for their “misconduct,” which included testimony at the trial that Day and Kranz took customer information and spreadsheets with them after they sent a bombshell email Dec. 16, 2019 announcing their departure.
Lauro said in the motion that Day, Kranz and their associates frustrated the wheels of justice by “demanding disproportionate discovery and advancing meritless defenses and counterclaims,” including an issue concerning boxes left behind at the sales office by Jason and Angela Kranz.
“All the while, (they) continued to unlawfully compete against Properties of The Villages, causing irreparable harm,” Lauro wrote in the motion.
He also said Properties of The Villages has the prerogative to “seek reimbursement of every dime it has reasonably spent protecting its rights,” but instead prefers “resolving this matter with minimal further controversy.”
The rogue realtors have been blocked from real estate deals in The Villages for 18 months. Day and Kranz were also ordered to return the information they took when they left.
During the trial, Day and Kranz both testified they were earning $500,000 annually while selling for The Villages. Elliott tearfully recalled being presented with a ring by Developer Gary Morse commemorating a significant sales achievement. Angela Kranz earned $130,000 in her second year as a sales representative.
