Tiki hut partially built on county property; now builder must pay to relocate it

Rachel Glickman had a great day in court.

County Judge Debra Stephens ruled in Glickman's favor Tuesday in a lawsuit against a Palm Beach Tiki.

WPTV investigative reporter Dave Bohman first reported on Glickman's situation in June after she came to a WPTV "Let's Hear It" event and spoke about her issue.

Glickman showed WPTV the results of a land survey indicating her newly built backyard tiki hut was partially constructed on county property.

R.B. Brennan Surveying

She showed Bohman the invoice where she paid Palm Beach Tiki more than $12,000 for the hut.

Palm Beach Tiki, at the time, blamed the surveying company, and Glickman said the company would not relocate the tiki hut unless she paid to have it done.

So, Glickman went to court.

And she won.

Stephens awarded her $16,646, plus attorney fees, ruling Palm Beach Tiki should pay the cost of relocating the hut to be completely on her property.

"I'm just glad that the judge saw the evidence and confirmed what I knew: the work was not done correctly," Glickman said.

Dave Bohman/WPTV

Last year, Bohman tried to track down Palm Beach Tiki co-owner Mario Laquerique at various locations in Palm Beach County to get his side of the story.

Bohman finally caught up with him in court after a judge ruled against his business.

Why didn't he fix the problem in 2022 when he realized the hut was built on county property?

"You'll have to talk to the attorney," Laquierque said.

Dave Bohman/WPTV

Since WPTV's original report in June, Glickman moved and now rents out the home as an Airbnb.

Now that she has been awarded damages, Glickman said, she will move the tiki hut to get it off county property.

She said moving the tiki hut would allow her to sell the home.