| IN THE CIRCUIT COURT IF THE TWENTIETH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR LEE COUNTY, FLORIDA FLORIDA LEGAL SERVICES, INC, a Florida Corporation, and AROLDO LOPEZ, Plantiffs, vs. FARMOP, INC., a Florida Corporation, and DAVID GARCIA, Individually, Defendants ORDER ON PLANTIFFS' APPLICATION/MOTION FOR TEMPORARY INJUNCTION THIS MATTER having come on to be heard before this Court upon the Plaintiff's Application/Motion for Temporary Injunction, and this Court having heard argument of counsel and the evidence presented by Plantiffs, and otherwise being duly advised in the premises, it is hereby ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows: I. Section 381.00897, Florida Statutes, provides that a resident of a migrant labor camp or residential migrant housing may decide who may decide who may visit him or her in the resident's private living quarters. The Defandant FARM OP, INC., may not prohibit or attempt to prohibit an invited guest access to or egress from the private living quarters of the resident who invited the guest by the erection or maintenance of any physical barrier, by physical force or violence, by threat of force or violence, or by any verbal order or notice given in any manner, except as provided under that statute section. 2. An "invited guest" includes any person who is invited by a resident to a migrant labor camp or residential migrant housing to visit that resident. Pursuant to Section 381.00897, Florida Statutes, other authorized visitors also have a right of access to or egress from the common areas of a migrant labor camp or residential migrant housing. The Defendant, FARM OP, INC., may not prohibit or attempt to prohibit such visitors access to or egress from the common areas of a migrant labor camp or residential migrant housing by the erection or maintenance of any physical barrier, by physical force or violence, by threat of force or violence, or by any verbal order or notice given any manner, except as provided under that statute section. 4. Such "authorized visitors" include representatives of non-profit legal services corporations, such as the Plantiff, FLORIDA RURAL LEGAL SERVICES, INC., who must comply with the Code of Professional Conduct of Professional Conduct of the Florida Bar. The term also includes a representative of a bona fide religious organization who, during the visit, is engages in the voaction or occupation of a religious professional or worker such as a minister, priest, or nun. 5. The Defendant, FARM OP, INC., has improperly restricted and denied access to "invited guests" and "other authorized visitors" in violation of Section 381.00897, Florida Statutes. 6. The Plantiff's Application/Motion for Temporary Injunction is hereby GRANTED. The plantiffs have met their burden of establishing the requisite elements for the issuance in a temporary injunction by showing the inadequacy of a remedy of law, the likelihood or irreparable injury if an order of injunction is not issued, and the probability of success in the action. 7. The Defendant, FARM OP, INC. shall be enjoined from conduct that operates to deprive "invited guests" and other "authorized visitors," as those terms are defined under Section 381.008(3) and (6), Florida Statutes, of their rights guaranteed by Section 381.00897, Florida Statutes. 8. Pursuant to Rule 1.610, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, a bond in the amount of Five Hundred and No/100 ($500.00) Dollars shall be posted, conditioned for the payment of costs and damages sustained by the adverse parties if the adverse parties are wrongly enjoined. Defendadnt, FARM OP, INC., shall be afforded the opportunity to file a motion to request the Court to increase the amount of the bond. This Order shall become effective when the bond is approved by the clerk of court. 9. The Defendant's, FARM OP, INC.'s, Motion for COntinuance is DENIED. That Defendant, however, shall be afforded the opportunity to file a motion to dissolve this Order, if it shoudl so choose. DONE and ORDERED in Chambers in Fort Myers, Lee County, Florida this 16 day of May, 2002. |
