Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Foreclosure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Magistrate authorizes foreclosure actions and grants continuances in several Loxahatchee Groves lien cases
Summary
On March 2, 2026 the special magistrate authorized the Town of Loxahatchee Groves to pursue foreclosure for multiple unpaid code-enforcement liens, confirmed statutory prerequisites were met, and granted continuances for other related properties while parties pursue documentation and settlement talks.
The Town of Loxahatchee Groves received magistrate authorization March 2 to pursue foreclosure in several long-running code-enforcement lien matters and secured agreed continuances in others as property owners and tenants continue negotiations and document reviews.
Deanna Thomas, the town's code compliance officer, told the magistrate the town had recorded orders assessing fines and had posted notice and sent certified mail to property owners. For one matter, cases 2301003 and 2301006 (16169 Southern Boulevard, Lantana Holdings LLC), the town reported a cumulative lien figure of about $496,500 as of the hearing date and said the liens continued to accrue at $250 per day; the town asked for authorization to foreclose under Florida Statutes chapter 162. Thomas said she mailed certified notice and had proof of posting and certified returns in the case file.
Dwayne Dickerson, counsel for Lantana Holdings, and tenant counsel Cody German appeared remotely. Dickerson asked for a 60-day continuance to review a previously negotiated settlement and to confirm whether bonds dated May 14, 2023 (which Dickerson provided copies of that morning) remain active; he identified three bond amounts he believed were posted to secure work (cited on the record as approximately $72,740; $572,625; and $30,000). The town said it had not received any claim that those bonds satisfied the town's current mitigation requirements and objected to delay.
Magistrate Amity Bernard described her role under chapter 162 as largely ministerial for foreclosure authorization: she must confirm (1) there is a recorded order assessing fines, (2) the order has been recorded for at least 90 days, (3) liens remain unpaid, and (4) the property is not homesteaded. Based on the case records and staff testimony the magistrate found those statutory criteria satisfied for the Lantana Holdings matters and entered an order authorizing the town to pursue foreclosure; she noted authorization is only an initial procedural step and does not itself initiate circuit-court foreclosure.
The magistrate took similar limited-record actions in additional cases filed against agricultural properties (including a 2018 case against Skew Farms LLC and cases identified as SQ Farms LLC), admitting case files where parties stipulated to service, granting continuances where parties agreed to return on April 6, 2026, and issuing foreclosure authorizations in cases that met statutory criteria. Counsel for respondents frequently asked for more time, citing recent changes in representation and, in one case, personal hardship; the magistrate expressed condolences and urged continued talks with town staff while concluding the limited statutory inquiry.
Dickerson and other respondents were told they may present evidence to the town or to the court that bonds or payments have been posted to satisfy liens; the town said it would review the materials submitted and confirm whether any bond or other security meets required conditions. The magistrate's authorizations clear the procedural path for the town to decide whether to file circuit-court foreclosure cases if liens remain unpaid.
