A Florida homeowners association is suing disabled U.S. Army veteran Jimmy Moore to force him to tear out a second driveway he built at his Middleburg home to accommodate his wheelchair-accessible van. The Jimmy Moore HOA lawsuit, filed by the Association of Villages of Fireside in September 2023, remains open in Clay County Court, and Moore says he has already spent about $30,000 defending it before running out of money for a lawyer.
Why Moore Built the Second Driveway
Moore has multiple sclerosis, uses a power wheelchair, and is rated 100 percent disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs after 23 years of Army service. He relies on a specially equipped van with a wheelchair lift to get in and out of his home. The second driveway gives the lift the clearance it needs to deploy safely.
The HOA offered alternatives: widen the existing driveway, or add an adjoining sidewalk. Moore rejected both as unsafe for his wheelchair use. After years without resolution, he installed the second driveway on his own, without the association’s approval.
A Decade of Denied Requests
The dispute goes back to roughly 2014, when Moore first asked to expand his driveway for his disability-related transportation needs. That request was denied. Over the following years he submitted more plans to the community’s Architectural Control Committee, including a horseshoe-shaped driveway and a separate second driveway for the van, and supplied medical documentation with the requests.
The committee denied those applications too, citing a rule that secondary driveways are allowed only on corner lots. The Moores dispute that reasoning and say the committee rejected some applications before even reviewing the plans. Moore told reporters the HOA said it would “look into it” and never followed up. He and his supporters also note that other homes in the Villages of Fireside have secondary driveways installed for convenience, which they say raises questions about whether the rule was applied selectively.
What the HOA Is Asking the Court to Do
The Association of Villages of Fireside, Inc. filed suit against Jimmy Lee Moore and Miranda Brooke Moore on September 7, 2023, in Clay County Court. The case, numbered 2023CC001613, was assigned to Judge Raymond E. Forbess Jr. and classified as a non-monetary county civil action seeking injunctive relief.
The complaint alleges the Moores violated neighborhood covenants by building the driveway without first submitting an application for approval. It further claims the construction removed soil, shrubs, and plants, altered the grade of the land, and permanently changed water and drainage flow on the property. The HOA is asking the court to order the Moores to tear out the second driveway, restore the lot to “living grass,” and return the property to its originally approved appearance.
The Fair Housing Act Angle
The federal Fair Housing Act bars housing discrimination based on disability and requires housing providers, including HOAs, to permit reasonable modifications to a dwelling’s interior or exterior when a person with a disability needs them for full use of the premises. An accessible driveway alteration can qualify. An HOA generally cannot refuse the modification unless it would impose an undue financial or administrative burden or fundamentally alter the community’s character.
Florida law provides parallel protections under sections 760.20 through 760.37 of the Florida Statutes, which make it illegal to refuse reasonable changes to a dwelling to accommodate a disability. The Florida Commission on Human Relations enforces those provisions in coordination with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Moore’s position is that the HOA was obligated to engage with his accommodation requests instead of denying them or letting them sit. He has characterized the lawsuit as a violation of his civil rights.
NAACP Involvement
The Clay County branch of the NAACP has stepped in to support the Moores. Dawn Thompson of the Clay County NAACP said the HOA’s lawsuit may violate both the federal and Florida Fair Housing Acts, which she said “prohibit discrimination and retaliation based on disability and require reasonable accommodations where necessary.”
The organization sent a letter to Clay County commissioners and state representatives asking them to intervene, help Moore, and prevent similar disputes in the future. It also publicly called on the HOA to pause the litigation so the two sides could work toward a resolution. As of early November 2025, the HOA’s attorney had not responded to media requests for comment.
Where the Case Stands
The lawsuit remains open in Clay County Court, with no reported ruling, settlement, or mediation outcome. The Moores say roughly $30,000 in attorney fees forced them to give up legal representation, and they still face the HOA’s demand that they remove the driveway and restore the property. The NAACP’s request to county and state officials for intervention is also pending.