On September 19, 2025, Brian Littrell, his wife Leighanne, and their limited liability company, BLB Beach Hut, filed a civil lawsuit against Ms. Carolyn Hill alleging that Ms. Hill trespassed on private property causing damages in excess of $50,000.00. Ms. Hill requested time from the Court to try to obtain a lawyer, and through the support of a local non profit, Florida Beaches for All, was able to retain Hartsell Ozery, P.A. to defend her from these unsupported claims. A GoFundMe has been set up to assist with the legal fund: Stand with Carolyn.
BLB Beach Hut is the property owner of a house located on the Gulf shore in Walton County, Florida, with direct access to the beach. At the time of purchase, the property extended 315 feet towards the Gulf shore. In 2025, a court order extended the property line down to the mean high water line. Now, the Littrells claim that they have rights to exclude the public from using the beach behind the house down to the shoreline, setting up “No Trespassing” signs, chairs, umbrellas, and small tables to delineate the alleged private property boundary lines.
Ms. Hill has been lawfully recreating at this particular stretch of beach for decades, at or below the mean highwater line or on public access, as allowed under the Florida law. She is protected under Senate Bill 1622, which protects the right to have recreational use of Florida’s beaches, safeguarded for public access. In the summer of 2025, the Florida Legislature repealed statutory restrictions on public access, confirming the public right to access the beaches for recreational purposes, and avoiding lengthy and costly judicial proceedings that would require a case-by-case review to provide public access.
In the initial Complaint, the Plaintiffs alleged that Ms. Hill repeatedly trespassed onto the beach on their private property, invaded their privacy, and stalked them. These allegations were baseless and legally deficient, with the Littrells failing to verify their petition for an injunction against stalking, which is required by law to avoid frivolous accusations of a criminal nature.
On November 19, 2025, Firm Attorney Mrs. Heidi Mehaffey, Esq., filed a Motion to Dismiss the Complaint on behalf of our client, Ms. Hill, arguing that Plaintiffs had failed to state a cause of action upon which relief can be granted. During oral arguments, the stalking charge against Ms. Hill was voluntarily dismissed, as it had no legal basis for being filed in the first place. As to the remaining claims of Invasion of Privacy and Trespasses, Mrs. Mehaffey argued that the Plaintiffs could not verify that Ms. Hill had, in fact, crossed over onto their private property, cannot allege an expectation of privacy on the open beach, nor could Plaintiffs ask the court to order Ms. Hill to stay off the beach. (Priscilla DeGregory, Backstreet Boys Singer Sues Florida Retiree for Rocking Her Body on Beach in Front of Mansion, New York Post, (Feb. 26, 2026, 12:56 PM ET), https://nypost.com/2026/02/26/us-news/backstreet-boys-brian-littrell-sues-florida-retiree-for-trespassing-in-front-of-mansion/).
This lawsuit against an elder member of the local community creates a chilling effect to keep individuals off the shoreline, which is an area where the Littrells have no right of exclusion. The Florida Constitution guarantees the right of individuals to enjoy Florida’s beaches, which is exactly what Ms. Hill was doing at this time. Due to the lawsuit filed against Ms. Hill, she has been subjected to costly litigation to protect her constitutional right to freely enjoy Florida’s beaches, a process that she should have never had to undergo.
On February 17, 2026, Judge Jonathan V. Schlechter dismissed all claims without prejudice, and provided the Littrells with twenty (20) days to file an amended complaint. An Amended Complaint was filed against Ms. Hill on February 25, 2026, alleging seven counts of trespass. In the Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs are now asking the Court to award their attorney’s fees and costs, without any basis in law or fact, and prevent Ms. Hill from approaching their property, which would preclude her from lawful public access. The allegations that Ms. Hill’s lawful presence caused more than $50,000 in damages is unsupported by fact or law and merely remains as a deterrent to keep other individuals away from the property.
Mrs. Mehaffey filed a Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint on March 17, 2026, arguing the Amended Complaint must be dismissed because it continues to suffer from legal deficiencies, failed to allege sufficient facts that the Littrells have standing to bring a cause of action upon which relief may be granted, and that the relief requested far exceeds what is allowable under the law. This Motion has not yet been set for hearing.
BLB Beach Hut filed a separate lawsuit against the Walton County Sheriff’s Department to force the Sheriff’s Office to arrest or remove alleged trespassers. This Petition was supplemented by an additional claim for inverse condemnation, alleging that due to the Sheriff’s Office failure to act, the Littrells’ property had been taken for use as a public beach without due compensation. However, Judge Jeffrey Lewis dismissed the action with prejudice on the merits.
Mrs. Mehaffey shared with the New York Post that Judge Lewis’s decision ‘send[s] a clear message that no oral arguments or amendments would have cured the legal defects, and that the supplemental complaint filed by Plaintiff did not warrant any more of the Court’s time or resources…’ (Priscilla DeGregory, Backstreet Boys Singer Dealt Another Legal Blow in Wat Over Beach at his $3.8M Home, New York Post, (Mar. 5, 2026, 3:44 PM ET), https://nypost.com/2026/03/05/us-news/backstreet-boy-brian-littrell-takes-anther-legal-blow-as-suit-against-florida-cops-in-beachfront-trespass-fight-gets-tossed/#). The Sheriff’s Office has a duty to ensure all individuals are able to access the beaches in the Gulf, as it is their constitutional right.
Fox and Friends, the morning show at Fox News Channel, contacted Mrs. Mehaffey for comment about the pending legal action against Ms. Hill, quoting her on their morning segment: “The Complaint is facially defective, as it fails to state claims upon which relief can be granted, and is being used as a tool to deter beachgoers, such as Ms. Hill, from their constitutional right to be present at the beaches in Walton County, Florida” (Fox and Friends, Backstreet Boy Member Sues Suspected Beach Trespasser for $50k, Fox News Channel (Nov. 30, 2025), https://www.foxnews.com/video/6385765555112).
While the Firm and Ms. Hill prepare for oral arguments on the Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint, they remain confident that the Court will recognize that the Plaintiffs in the Amended Complaint, once again, fail to lay the proper foundation to support their baseless allegations.
Ms. Hill continues to incur legal fees in her defense of her constitutional right to public access to the beaches of Walton County, Florida. If you would like to support Ms. Hill and contribute to legal funds, please find Ms. Hill’s go-fund me link here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-with-carolyn-support-her-against-this-unfair-lawsuit.
