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Lacy widow plans to re-file lawsuit against city of St. Petersburg

 
Published April 10, 2014

ST. PETERSBURG — Christine Lacy will not end her fight to get the city to pay for damages related to the demolition of her home after her husband's fatal encounter with two police officers in 2011.

Lacy's attorney, James Wardell, told the Tampa Bay Times on Wednesday that she intends to re-file her lawsuit, which a federal judge dismissed this week.

That means Lacy, the widow of cop killer Hydra Lacy, could be back in court soon.

She told the court her constitutional rights were violated when the city tore down her home Jan. 24, 2011, hours after her fugitive husband shot and killed two officers. Lacy said she lost all her possessions and was told by then-Mayor Bill Foster the city would make her "whole."

The city says it has no liability, however, and on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington granted city officials' request to have the suit dismissed because it was not clear enough and failed to identify a city policy that caused her injury. The judge left Lacy the option of resubmitting her complaint by April 25.