Windermere appeals unfavorable boathouse decision

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The Town of Windermere, which at last count had spent $637,000 asserting its disputed claim to five century-old wooden boathouses, will add to its hefty legal bill by asking an appellate panel to review an emphatic lower court decision siding with the structures’ private owners.

Daniel Langley, co-counsel for the owners of the boathouses, which perch in a lagoon adjacent to popular Lake Butler, said the move will only cost taxpayers more. His clients plan to seek reimbursement for attorney fees and costs.

He did not say what they have spent to hold onto the private properties, but he said it was much more than the town has paid.

Circuit Court Judge John E. Jordan signed an order in November in favor of those titled owners, finalizing a decis