Boatman v. Town of Oakland, FL

TJOFLAT, Chief Judge:

The dispute in this case is not grist for the mill of a United States district court; rather, it belongs in state court. We therefore vacate the district court’s judgment and direct the court to dismiss the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

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The warring parties are the Town of Oakland, a small community in Orange County, Florida, 1 and two of its residents, William and Mary Jane Boatman. The dispute involves the Boatmans’ attempt, beginning in September 1991, to build and occupy a “manufactured home” on a lot they own in one of the Town’s residential…