Part 2 of the Cole Family Saga

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Family outbids builder in home fight

By Victor Hull

REGIONAL REPORTER

Grissinger was so close to winning a long and bitter legal war

Thursday morning that it must have seemed like money in the bank.

All he had to do was bid high enough in a court-ordered Sarasota auction,

and the Englewood house that caused all the fuss in the first place would

finally belong to his client.

But Grissinger was beaten by $1, and Cole's determination to do

anything necessary to make sure that his elderly parents didn't lose their

house.

Cole offered $127,001 to win the bidding for and Junior Cole's Elm

Street home. Grissinger, representing the company that built the home,

Barlar Enterprises, dropped out of the bidding at $127,000.

Although Cole won the bidding, he didn't buy the house. But he did buy some

time in hopes of winning an appeal to overturn a judge's ruling ordering the

auction.

Cole put down $1,000 toward the bid price Thursday morning, then had until 5

p.m. to pay the balance. He failed to meet the deadline and forfeited the

downpayment.

Now, the sale will have to be rescheduled by the clerk's office, a process

that could take up to two months. Meanwhile, oral arguments in the appeal

are set for Tuesday. If the Coles prevail, they can keep the house.

It marked the third time in a year that the Coles have thwarted Barlar's

efforts to auction their property to pay off legal fees a judge has ruled

the Coles owe the builder. Grissinger was clearly frustrated as he left the

Sarasota County clerk of court's office in downtown Sarasota.

``Their integrity will be proven at the end of the day,'' he said. ``What

you've experienced here is a manipulation and basically an abuse of the

process, if you bid without a reasonable ability to follow through.''

But Cole and his wife Kathy were visibly relieved. They hope the 2nd

District Court of Appeal judges in Lakeland next week will overturn the

order that 's parents' property be auctioned to pay off more than

$140,000 in legal fees and interest.

A state court judge ruled that and Junior Cole owe the money because

they lost a 1995 lawsuit over alleged construction defects in the roof of

their $90,000 home.

The Coles feared that if the house were auctioned before the appeal they

would never be able to recover it. They've taken their plight to government

officials from Sarasota to Tallahassee in a desperate effort to save the

house.

``We're trying everything we can do,'' said Cole. ``We're right.

Somewhere down the road, it's going to show that we're right.''

If anyone's integrity should be questioned, Kathy Cole said, it's the

builder's.

``I don't want them to have it at all,'' said a tearful Kathy Cole, vowing

to take the case to the Florida Supreme Court if necessary. ``It's not

theirs.''

A circuit judge in Sarasota had originally scheduled the auction of

and Junior Cole's new home, and another next door that they previously had

owned and turned over to and Kathy, for September 1997. That sale

was postponed after and Junior Cole filed for bankruptcy protection.

It was rescheduled for July after the bankruptcy case was settled. On the

eve of the sale, the Coles got another reprieve after filing for protection

under another chapter of federal bankruptcy law. However, a judge in

September ruled that the sale could proceed.

Earlier this week, and Kathy Cole filed for bankruptcy protection,

temporarily removing their home from the auction block.

But they were out of options for stopping the auction of and Junior

Cole's home.

Grissinger started the bidding at $100. Cole countered at $200.

Grissinger hiked the amount to $10,000, $50,000, $75,000, $100,000 and

$120,000.

Each time, Cole raised the ante by $1.

Grissinger finally asked the clerk's official overseeing the auction if Cole

had been informed of the terms of the bidding.

``I'm hoping to be able to pay this by 5 o'clock,'' he responded.

``Are you hoping, or do you have concrete plans?'' Grissinger asked.

``That we'll have to wait and see,'' answered Cole.

Grissinger then asked Cole what his ``ceiling'' was in the bidding. Cole

mistook the word ``ceiling'' for ``feeling,'' and launched a tirade against

the builder.

``I think your client is crooked,'' he said angrily.

Moments later, Grissinger bowed out of the bidding, barely five minutes

after it began.

``This will not be any different than what we've experienced before,'' said

Grissinger. ``Barlar's been dealing with this for several years.''

and Junior Cole had argued in court that roof on their home was

improperly constructed, citing engineers' observations that the plywood

sheathing was not attached to the tops of trusses in some locations, that

the trusses appeared weathered and many other problems. Barlar's owner,

Larry LeBeau of Charlotte County, claimed that he tried to address all of

the Coles' concerns but couldn't satisfy them.

Barlar said the home construction met industry standards and complied with

Sarasota County's building code, as evidenced by the fact that county

building inspectors approved it.

and Junior Cole did not attend Thursday's auction. Cole, who

recently planted a garden outside the house, still holds out hope that

something will happen to allow them to keep it.

Victor Hull covers regional growth, development, environment, and population

issues for Manatee, Sarasota, and Charlotte counties. He can be reached by

phone at 957-5234, fax at 957-5276, or e-mail at vhull@....

Story Filed By The HERALD TRIBUNE, SARASOTA, FLORIDA