11th Circuit: Ixnay On The Vacay Rental Lawsuit

Not much new in Numont v. State of Florida, No. 04-13610 (11th Cir., July 2, 2010) (per curiam). There, property owners sued to enjoin a Monroe County (aka the Florida Keys) ordinance that prevents "vacation rentals." The opinion makes short work of two issues.

First, the court disposed of the claim that the ordinance was not properly adopted because it underwent "substantial or material" changes during the adoption process. The federal court certified the question to the Florida Supreme Court, which answered that the changes made conformed to the public notice, the ordinance was properly adopted.

Second, the property owners' takings claim was not ripe since they conceded they had not sought relief in state court. The court rejected the property owners' claim that doing so would be futile because the ordinance was "part of a larger regulatory effort to ban vacation rentals, an effort that they had challenged twice in Florida state courts." Slip op. at 6. Still gotta try, held the court.

Speaking of vacation rentals, according to "Paris Aims to Curb Apartment Rentals to Tourists" (NY Times), the crackdown isn't just in Florida.