Tilted home on Gulf Drive now involved in a lawsuit with neighbors

BAY COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) — A beach house off Gulf Drive that went viral after a January tornado is now the subject of a lawsuit. The twister lifted the house, leaving it wedged between the homes on either side of it.

One of the owners, James Sturgeon, said he’s had to deal with a lot to have his dream home. It was destroyed during Hurricane Michael while it was still under construction. He decided to rebuild in 2021 and was left heartbroken by the January tornado.

In a statement to News 13, Sturgeon said he immediately began clearing debris, securing the site, and planning to demolish the house.

But that work hasn’t begun fast enough for the neighbors to make their own repairs so, they’re suing.

“They had sought a demolition permit from Bay County and it was given to them and then it was revoked and then it was issued again and so our client, Beasley Allen’s client, they can’t even begin to repair their properties, they can’t get into them,” Principal with the Beasley Allen Law Firm Rebecca Gilliland said.

The lawsuit claims county officials emailed both parties on March 19, saying “the County would not be tearing down the building unless all involved waive liability for the
county and its contractor.”

“The problem with that is, let’s say, for example, the crane falls over and it lands on one of our client’s houses, then the clients wouldn’t be able to have any recourse. They wouldn’t be able to have additional damages and we don’t know what their insurance company would treat that,” Gilliland said.

Sturgeon said he has worked tirelessly with expert engineers and contractors but said they have been “scared to act due to threats and demands” from his neighbors. With neither side willing to compromise, the court will determine what happens next.

“Every time that we’ve been out there, for example, visiting the property, numerous people have walked by and stopped and take pictures. Some of them are entering on to the property to get as close as they can. Thankfully, I haven’t seen anyone go under the tilted house, but that’s not the risk. There’s not anyone there 24 hours a day to keep people off the property so it’s absolutely a safety concern,” Gilliland said.

The county says this week the latest contractor on the county demolition permit removed themselves from the job.

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