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A judge orders the family to pay a $70 fine because the father did not show up for a deposition set up by a civic association attorney.
By CARY DAVIS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 4, 2003
NEW PORT RICHEY -- The past few months haven't been easy for Steven and Corinna Gourlay.
In October, they were sued for raising five foster children in a deed-restricted Port Richey neighborhood. Then came Christmas. The Gourlays, who also have four biological children, saved all year to pay for Barbies, electronic games, roller skates.
On Friday, their budget took another hit.
A judge ordered the family to pay a $70 fine because Steven Gourlay did not show up for a deposition scheduled by the attorney for the Forest Lake Estates Civic Association.
Gourlay skipped the November deposition on the advice of his attorney, Matt Moore.
Moore told Circuit Judge Stanley Mills at Friday's hearing that it would have been pointless for Gourlay to appear for a deposition because there was a pending motion to dismiss the case. And Moore said he was confident he would prevail on the motion to dismiss the lawsuit because the Gourlays and their foster children were protected by federal and state fair housing laws.
But Moore was unable to cite any cases that squared with his argument. Mills said he had no choice but to order the Gourlays to pay $70 to cover the association's expense of hiring a court reporter for the deposition.
"I can't allow you to make up the rules," Mills told Moore.
Mills also heard arguments Friday on the motion to dismiss. He took the matter under advisement.
Allison Bethel, who heads the civil rights division of the Florida Attorney General's Office, attended the hearing and argued on the Gourlays' behalf.
The association's lawsuit argues that the Gourlays violated Forest Lake Estate's covenants by failing to restrict the use of their home to residential purposes. The lawsuit says the Gourlays do not meet the definition of a "single family" because of the five foster children.
Bethel said the fair housing laws, and prior court rulings, specifically include foster children in the definition of familial status. "That makes (the foster children) part of . . . Mr. Gourlay's family," she said.
The Gourlays have filed a countersuit in federal court, alleging that the civic association violated fair housing laws. That case is pending.
Donald Peyton, the lawyer for the association, said he needs to take Steven Gourlay's deposition to determine the familial status of the children in the home.
The Gourlays and their attorneys say that can be done without a deposition.
"Our foster care license is sitting right here on the kitchen table," Mrs. Gourlay said Friday afternoon.
And Peyton, in an interview with the St. Petersburg Times before the association sued, seemed to concede the point when he said the Gourlays were "making a business of taking in foster children."
Meanwhile, the Gourlays say they are shopping for a new home. They need to get out of Forest Lake Estates, Corinna Gourlay said, because "we don't have peace in our lives."
One of their foster children, a 14-year-old girl, ran away over the weekend and hasn't returned, Mrs. Gourlay said. She said the girl has been emotionally devastated by the controversy.
"We need to move," Mrs. Gourlay said. "We don't feel the same about the house anymore."
"There's a completely different tone in the community. When we walk down the street and a car slows down, you don't know if someone's going to wave or flip you off."
-- Cary Davis covers west Pasco courts. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6236 or toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6236. His e-mail address is cbdavis@sptimes.com .