Battle over truck heads to court

A disabled man who says he needs his truck clashes with his homeowners group.

By ROBERT FARLEY, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 4, 2002

PALM HARBOR -- A sport utility vehicle, okay. A Jeep, fine. But the Dodge Ram pickup truck parked outside Anthony Colecchia's townhouse has got to go.

So says the Village of Somerset Woods homeowners association.

Colecchia, 66, a retired New York City firefighter, said he has a disability that requires the truck. He had spinal surgery after a car accident in 1991 that left him with permanent mild paralysis in his legs. He needs the extra legroom of a pickup truck to prevent cramps in his legs and back, he said. The added seat height allows him to see the road better without uncomfortable twisting, he added.

Prove it, the association countered.

So Colecchia provided a letter from his doctor, who stated that Colecchia's "medical condition dictates special seating with customized legroom for his mobility and safety."

The association's attorney, Steven Mezer, suggested Colecchia consider a Ford Explorer or a Jeep Grand Cherokee, both of which would provide added seat height and legroom but also would comply with the neighborhood's deed restrictions, which ban trucks.

"My Dodge Ram King Cab suits me just fine," Colecchia said.

Besides, he said, he didn't have the money for a new car. He paid $18,000 for the pickup truck.

In March, after months of warnings, the Palm Harbor Somerset Village Association sued Colecchia in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court.

In response, Colecchia filed a charge of discrimination in housing on the basis of handicap against the association with the county's Office of Human Rights. In mid December, the Pinellas County Commission authorized the county attorney's office to initiate litigation against the association on Colecchia's behalf.

Colecchia said he understands the ban on commercial trucks in the residential neighborhood.

"I don't want that, either," he said. "I don't want trucks with writing on the side and ladders hanging off it."

But his truck is not used commercially, he said. He bought the pickup 21/2 years ago, he said, because he often suffered cramping in his legs and back after driving his Dodge Intrepid.

A court hearing in early December was postponed to allow Colecchia's new attorney to get up to speed. Colecchia said he thought a deal was in the works.

"We've got good reason at this point, and I don't say this loosely, to believe that this matter is going to be resolved," Oliver Melvin, compliance manager with the Pinellas County Office of Human Rights, said on Friday. But on Monday, Mezer said a deal wasn't likely.

"It's going to court," he said.

Colecchia said he is sure he will win. And once the case is finished, Colecchia said, he plans to countersue the association.

"I want to teach them a lesson for going after someone when they should have left them alone," he said.

- Staff writer Richard Danielson contributed to this report.

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