WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell wants Walton County beachgoers to “Quit playing games” over the mean high water line.
In July, WFLA sister station WMBB reported the Littrells were suing the Walton County Sheriff’s Office for failure to enforce their private property rights.
This time, he’s suing the woman from the video, 67-year-old Carolyn Barrington Hill.
The family’s attorneys previously provided News 13 with this video in an effort to show the Walton County Sheriff’s deputies’ failure to enforce the Littrells’ private property rights.
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In the video, Hill becomes increasingly distressed after being told to move from her spot on Santa Rosa Beach.
The deputy tries to calm her, saying he doesn’t agree with private beaches himself, and tells her she will be fine if she just moves in front of another property.
Hill then says the Littrells and their property manager have repeatedly threatened her, on one occasion with an electric drill.
“I’ve been threatened by him, and next time he gets four feet away from me with that drill, I’m bringing out pepper spray. Am I allowed to do that when he does this in front of me?” Defendant Carolyn Barrington Hill said the deputy.
The property manager admits the interaction with the drill to the deputy.
“She comes out here and harasses us all, these owners all the time, I get what you’re talking about with the drill and I’m not going to use it as a weapon, ” the beach property manager said.
It’s an experience others have shared on the Shoreline Defender app’s Instagram page.
The social media site is the self-proclaimed guardian of beachgoers’ rights and Walton County’s sandy beaches.
Over the last several months, it has featured Hill and the deputy’s power drill dilemma, as well as many other posts with a common message: The public feels threatened.
“That’s the second person now that has told me that they felt threatened by you because you have a drill in your hand. That drill with a metal bar attached to it can be considered a weapon. Okay. It doesn’t matter how you treat it. Threats a perception, is it not? ” a Walton County Sheriff’s deputy said.
But Littrell’s lawyers spell out a completely different story in the lawsuit.
The initial court filings from September claim Hill has repeatedly and intentionally trespassed, causing the family damages and emotional distress.
The documents cite several counts of trespassing to real property, invasion of privacy, recording without the plaintiff’s consent, stalking, and even demand a jury trial on each issue and each count.
Hill twice requested an extension from the court, saying she’s had difficulty getting a lawyer, is semi-retired, on Medicare, and can’t take time off from work to fully dedicate to her legal matters.
The court granted her the extension.
Hill now has an attorney who filed a motion on November 19 to dismiss Littrell’s complaint on the grounds that there is a lack of specificity, improperly pled claims, and an inability to support those claims in order to grant relief.
A hearing on the motion to dismiss is now scheduled for December 11.
On Wednesday, we contacted Litrell’s lawyers, who feel the issue will be resolved quickly.
Carolyn Barrington Hill has not returned our calls for comment.