Millionaire Florida beachfront mansion owner sues to stop people having sex and defecating there

A millionaire software firm executive is suing a Florida town hall for failing to stop antisocial behaviour on the private beach in front of his house.

Shawn Moore, 41, chief technology officer with Orlando IT firm Solodev, and his fellow plaintiffs say beach-goers play loud music, drink, smoke, use drugs, have sex, urinate and defecate in the sand.

But one man who Moore reported for fishing claims the owner of the $7.45 million (£6 million) Gulf Boulevard address yelled foul abuse and made obscene gestures at him.

Shawn Moore, 41, chief technology officer at Solodev in Orlando, has complained about antisocial behaviour on the beach in front of his $7.45 million Redington Beach mansion, including people having sex and defecating

The seven residents want the town council in Redington Beach, a suburb of Tampa, to stop other citizens accessing the beach. 

‘Their private property is not for people to be camping out, drinking and partying,’ said lawyer Kevin Hennessy, who also represents residents Dagmar Moore, Robert Dohmen, Shawn Buending, Thomas K. Brown and Harry and Wendy Fields in the case.  

Partial public access rights to part of private beaches will be effectively revoked on July 1 after a vote by the Florida state legislature.

Currently private land claims end at the high water mark, and members of the public can use the beach below that.

The new law stops city halls from allowing access to private beachfronts against the will of property owners, even where that right existed before.

Local authorities can pass ordnances to waive the legislation and maintain ‘customary use’ rights.

But they need approval from a judge, which the plaintiffs say Redington Beach failed to obtain when they passed a by-law last June. 

They also claim that the town hall has failed to enforce a 15-foot ‘buffer zone’ below the high water mark.    

Beachfront homes in Redington Beach, Tampa, Florida, where residents are suing the town hall to stop members of the public accessing the beach

Beachfront homes in Redington Beach, Tampa, Florida, where residents are suing the town hall to stop members of the public accessing the beach

Moore is the only one of the seven plaintiffs to have complained to the authorities about unacceptable behaviour on his property, local sheriff’s office records show.

‘The problem is that the police were not responsive because of the town’s ordinance,’ Hennessy said. 

But fisherman Will Rawald, 53, told the Tampa Bay Times that Moore had unleashed a tirade of verbal abuse after making unfounded complaints against him and another angler.

Rawald said that he had spoken to Moore before the executive made a complaint. Moore styled himself as a  ‘good Christian man’ who didn’t mind sharing, but at the same time insisted the beach front was his.

On the morning of March 17 Moore phoned the police to complain about Rawald and the other man fishing. 

Sheriff’s Deputy John Cronin recorded that Moore acted ‘highly upset’ when told the two men had valid fishing licences and were breaking no law.

Rawald responded by publicising the incident on local social media site Nextdoor, saying Moore should be ‘publicly shamed.’

An ’emotional and upset’ Moore phoned the Sheriff’s Office again on March 22 to report the online post, which he called a ‘violent threat against his family.’

Rawald told the Times that the next time he visited the spot to fish, Moore came up to his sea wall, yelled: ‘F*** you Will!’ and gave him the middle finger.

Rawald’s post was ‘inaccurate and taken out of context,’ Moore’s attorney Hennessy told the Tampa Bay Times.

A street view of Gulf Boulevard in the Redington Beach suburb of Tampa, Florida, where residents including Shawn Moore are suing the town hall over a by-law allowing 'customary access' to the beach in front of their properties

A street view of Gulf Boulevard in the Redington Beach suburb of Tampa, Florida, where residents including Shawn Moore are suing the town hall over a by-law allowing ‘customary access’ to the beach in front of their properties

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