A Florida mom named Irena Green found herself in handcuffs over her brown grass and a dirty mailbox outside her home, thanks to her strict HOA (Homeowners Association). What started as a simple violation notice spiraled into more notices before a lawsuit was filed. Irena ended up missing her court date, prompting her to face THIS many days behind bars. Here’s the lowdown…
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More On Irena Green’s Ordeal With Her HOA
Irena’s nightmare began with a notice from The Trowbridge Company Inc., her HOA’s management, pointing out her lawn’s browning grass. “The grass has started turning brown. So then they started sending notes,” Green told ABC Action News. She blamed a big tree casting shade and drought-related watering restrictions in her area. “If you drive around my neighborhood, you’ll see there’s plenty of yards not up to par,” she added. But the HOA was not willing to budge.
They hit her with more violations: a dirty mailbox, a dented garage door, and a commercial cargo van parked in her driveway. Irena says similar vans were common in her neighborhood, and she felt singled out. When she ignored a mediation request, the HOA hired attorney Francis Friscia to file a lawsuit in Hillsborough County Civil Court.
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Irena submitted a response without an attorney. She says she represented herself, but the judge rejected her letter. Then, in July 2024, the court gave her a 30-day ultimatum. Fix the violations or face jail time. “He said you can get seed, you can do something, but you’ve got 30 days to get it corrected,” Irena recalled. She says she got to work, selling her van, scrubbing the mailbox, and seeding her lawn. But things were far from over.
A Missed Court Date Landed Her Behind Bars
Irena thought she’d done enough to comply, but the HOA still wasn’t satisfied. The real trouble came when she missed a follow-up court hearing in August 2024.
“I was supposed to receive documentation. Nothing was sent to my home. And I reached out to the courthouse several times to try to find out when was my court date,” she explained.
The judge, unimpressed, found her in contempt of court and issued a warrant for her arrest, allegedly at Friscia’s request. On May 23, while driving her 15-year-old daughter home from cheerleading practice, Irena was pulled over by a deputy. “He asked me can I get out. When I got out he said, ‘Ms. Green, did you know that you have a warrant for your arrest?’” she recounted.
She was handcuffed and booked into jail without bond. “There was no bond. So I couldn’t even go home to my family. I sat in there for seven days. Seven days in the jailhouse like a criminal,” Irena said, describing the humiliation. She faced two charges. They were in contempt of court and in failure to comply with a court order to show cause.
Irene’s Been Released But Still Fighting
After six days in jail, Irena’s sister-in-law filed an emergency petition. At the hearing, her sibling presented photos proving the yard was fixed. A different judge ordered her immediate release, despite the HOA attorney’s push to keep her locked up.
“It makes me feel horrible. I work hard to buy this home for me and my kids in a better neighborhood and environment, and to be taken to jail and to be treated like that for brown grass at my own home … that’s horrible,” Irena continued.
Now, she’s said to be facing thousands in legal fees and a foreclosure threat from the HOA over unpaid dues. “I think they have way too much power. I’ve never heard of anything like this in my life,” she said.
