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Cory Lake Isles Controversy

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By KENNETH KNIGHT

kknight@tampatrib.com

Published: February 11, 2009

CORY LAKE ISLES - A turf war over who should have access to an office at the community clubhouse has sparked countering lawsuits.

And once again, the legal action pits Cory Lake Isles residents against developer Gene Thomason.

The Cory Lake Isles Community Development District has filed a lawsuit seeking to evict Thomason from using an office at the Beach Club, where his family ran a real estate business until late last year.

Thomason is countersuing, claiming the CDD is violating a 50-year lease the board agreed to with his company, Cory Lakes LTD, in 1996. The suit also said he has spent more than $450,000 in personal money to help build the clubhouse, so he deserves to stay.

Thomason is being sued by the district board he founded and served on until November.

The dispute began shortly after November's elections, when three new district supervisors were elected to the board for the first time, converting it from developer to resident control.
District officials said they asked Thomason to provide a key to the 500-square-foot office, where they believed district materials are stored, but nothing was delivered.

Thomason's attorneys sent the district board two letters. The first asked the board to specify what district-owned material it was seeking; the second said the district was attempting to violate its lease with Thomason's company.

The board directed its attorney, Mark Straley, to file a lawsuit Jan. 20.

In the suit, the CDD asked the court to declare the lease with Cory Lakes LTD invalid because there was an improper quorum in place when the agreement was approved. The suit also asked the court to evict Thomason and grant the district access to the office.

The board's lawsuit contends the lease with Cory Lakes LTD should be declared void because Thomason's wife, Betty, who was a member of the five-member CDD board at the time, should have abstained from voting on a matter that benefited her family.

The suit said she cast one of the three votes, approving the lease.

Straley declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Thomason's lawsuit contends the board approved a valid lease that took effect Jan. 1, 1996. The suit said the 50-year agreement also included an annual rent payment of $1. The $50 was paid in 2006.

The suit said Thomason is entitled to receive a monthly fee of $90,245 for a year because the lease was violated.

The lawsuits are the latest in a series of legal proceedings involving Cory Lake Isles residents and Thomason.

A group of homeowners sued in October 2007 and June, accusing him of spending homeowner fees on personal expenses and to subsidize his other businesses.

Thomason, who denied any wrongdoing, complied with a court order in September to hand over financial records regarding Cory Lake Isles.

Reporter Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813) 865-4842.

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