The Lucas Lagoons lawsuit was a 2024 civil action filed by the Sarasota, Florida custom-pool company Lucas Lagoons Construction, LLC against a former employee, Jess Vernon Stevenson, alleging he lied about his qualifications and quietly solicited the company’s clients while still on the payroll. The suit was filed on June 26, 2024, and closed four months later, on October 23, 2024, with an agreed judgment and a permanent injunction against Stevenson.1Trellis Law. Lucas Lagoons Construction, LLC vs Stevenson, Jess Vernon
What Lucas Lagoons Alleged
Stevenson was hired on August 28, 2021, to lead the company’s landscaping division. According to the complaint, he presented himself as experienced in high-end landscaping and lighting work, and Lucas Lagoons alleged those representations were false. The company said it had to buy replacement materials and pay subcontractors to redo Stevenson’s work.2Trellis Law. Complaint, Lucas Lagoons Construction, LLC vs Stevenson
The complaint also alleged that Stevenson repeatedly approached Lucas Lagoons customers while employed there and offered to provide landscaping and lighting services directly, diverting projects away from the company. Stevenson was terminated in July 2022.2Trellis Law. Complaint, Lucas Lagoons Construction, LLC vs Stevenson
The Legal Claims
The suit brought three causes of action: breach of contract, breach of the duty of loyalty, and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA), codified in Chapter 501 of the Florida Statutes. Lucas Lagoons sought damages in excess of $50,000 and injunctive relief.1Trellis Law. Lucas Lagoons Construction, LLC vs Stevenson, Jess Vernon FDUTPA matters in this context because it allows a prevailing plaintiff to recover attorney’s fees and court costs alongside actual damages.
The case was filed in the Circuit Court of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit in Sarasota County and assigned to Judge Stephen M. Walker under case number 2024-CA-003346-NC.1Trellis Law. Lucas Lagoons Construction, LLC vs Stevenson, Jess Vernon
How the Case Ended
Stevenson filed an answer with affirmative defenses on July 30, 2024, and the court set a non-jury trial for July 7, 2025. It never got there. On October 22, 2024, the parties filed a stipulation for entry of an agreed judgment, and Judge Walker entered the judgment and permanent injunction the next day.1Trellis Law. Lucas Lagoons Construction, LLC vs Stevenson, Jess Vernon
The financial terms of the agreed judgment are not public in the available records. The permanent injunction indicates ongoing restrictions on Stevenson’s conduct, but the specific scope is not detailed in the docket entries. The case is closed.2Trellis Law. Complaint, Lucas Lagoons Construction, LLC vs Stevenson
Stevenson’s Separate Landscaping Business
Florida business records show Stevenson was associated with Greenline Landscaping & Design, LLC, registered in Sarasota in December 2017. The entity filed annual reports through 2021 and was later listed as inactive after being revoked for failure to file an annual report in September 2022, roughly two months after Stevenson was terminated.3Florida Division of Corporations. Greenline Landscaping & Design, LLC
Other Legal Matters Involving Lucas Lagoons
This was a dispute with a former employee, not a consumer case. No class action lawsuits or consumer class claims against Lucas Lagoons have been identified in publicly available records. The company’s Florida contractor license, held by certified pool and spa contractor William David Van Staden as the primary qualifying agent, is listed as current and active through August 2026, with no disciplinary actions noted in state licensing records.4Florida DBPR. License Detail – Van Staden, William David