Hi, I'm Kim. Most people know me as Captain Kim. I have lived in my house for 34 years. I have owned and operated Captain Kim's Charters for roughly 28 years. My husband works at a local fish house, is also a stone crab fisherman, and builds docks. We are not rich. We were both born here and have lived here all our lives.

My husband and I have been in a court battle for more than 3 years just to keep our home. The new land developer (Cortez Road Investments and Finance Inc. "CRIF") across the canal from me has multiple lawsuits against us and most of my neighbors. They have a TEAM of lawyers. They have a Lis Pendens against all of us. That means we can't sell our property until the cases are resolved. Mind you, we didn't start this. When this developer came to town, a sheriff showed up at our door at 7 am to serve us with papers. We were stunned. We figured that we could just call them as there must be a mistake or a misunderstanding. That was 3 years ago. We had to get a lawyer because he started another lawsuit because we didn't have a lawyer, so that we would be financially responsible for ALL court costs.

They claim that #1 they own the whole canal. #2 since they own it all, we have to take our dock out - my dock was built with the house in 1970. #3 They are claiming that they also own 3 feet up into our backyard, so they are suing for trespassing. I haven't looked at my bank records, but between the land surveys, lawyer fees, and a few other things, we have spent over $60,000 so far. Let me be clear - we don't care if they build lots of homes and docks on the other side of the canal. We just want to be left alone. There are no private canals in Florida. If they get away with this, the developers all over the state will go crazy taking public use canals and the properties of older long-time residents.

We have been through 3 judges and CRIF has still not proved actual ownership of the canal. There is a huge sign at the entrance of the canal that says anyone entering the canal is trespassing - this canal is very long with lots of turns. It has lots of houses, 2 trailer parks, and a marina. Only 6 houses in a row (including me) are being sued. The marina has a separate lawsuit that they brought against CRIF.

We are being watched at every turn. 2 years ago the county opened several cases with code enforcement/inspectors against all of us. I had one code enforcement officer at my door every week. She was "mysteriously" fired along with another - don't know why ("wink, wink"). Then mysteriously they dropped all of them a few months later. I have had people in my backyard, boats pulling up to mine and my neighbors' docks. I have no trespassing signs EVERYWHERE just because of them. The stress has affected our health and all of the relationships with friends and family. I feel like this is how the people felt in Chicago in the '30s.

All 6 of us have had docks on our property since 1970 or maybe earlier. The original plats show that we all own halfway into the canal - just like all the other canals near me. You can read between any lines. Let's be real here, they are just throwing all kinds of suits at us so they can drain us of what money we have left, then they can take our homes from us. You cannot borrow money against your home with a lis pendens. We are almost out of money and have nowhere left to turn.