Homeowners Continue Fight in Court Against Virginia Heights Neighbor Over Private Park
At stake, is the use of a shared lakefront lot some residents use to launch kayaks or picnic. The homeowners next to the park want to limit when and how the land is used.
Jan. 21, 2026
By Gabrielle Russon
A neighborhood squabble over a private Lake Virginia park is escalating in court.
Eric and Diane Holm and Brian and Caryn Albertson sued their Virginia Heights neighbor Stephanie Guss over “filthy” kayaks and other complaints about the lakefront neighborhood park that sits between their homes.
The lawsuit was filed in April, but Guss was not served until just before Thanksgiving after Orange Circuit Court Judge Lisa Munyon ordered the lawsuit would be dismissed if the Holms and Albertsons didn’t take action.
A woman and child walk to the private neighborhood park. The access point may appear to be on private property, but there’s a walkway to the shared lot deeded to Virginia Heights residents.
Since then, neighbors have quietly raised more than $10,000 to help with Guss’ legal bills.
So far, no court hearings have been set on the legal fight in one of Winter Park’s oldest neighborhoods where the park has been a beloved site for community gatherings.
At stake, is how much access neighbors have to the land platted 100 years ago to give residents who don’t own lake lots a spot to launch kayaks, hold picnics or otherwise enjoy views of Lake Virginia, part of Winter Park’s picturesque chain of lakes.
Several neighbors supporting Guss declined to comment for this story because they said they feared they would be sued next.
“Their suit is in essence, only a thinly veiled attempt at asserting a view right over the park — a right they do not possess. The choice of the Holms and Albertsons to pursue litigation over cooperation has devastated the Virginia Heights community,” they wrote in an unsigned letter to the Winter Park Voice. “The result is a culture of fear and intimidation in a once neighborly community.”
But the Holms and Albertsons, who also declined to be interviewed, said in a written statement their lawsuit’s goal “is to get clear, workable guidance that everyone can follow in 2026—so deeded homeowners can enjoy the park while the adjacent homes can maintain reasonable privacy and security.”
The two families said they want better signs to keep the public out of the park and daylight park hours only. They also would like all boats and personal storage out so “the park isn’t treated as a storage area and so rules are consistent and transparent for everyone.”
“We consider ourselves respectful neighbors, and we’re asking for the same respect in return — especially given the park’s immediate proximity to two backyards,” the two families said in a statement.
Holm, a major Republican donor who has hosted Vice President J.D. Vance for lunch at his home and a philanthropist who operates multiple Golden Corral, Peach Valley Cafe and Jersey Mike’s Subs locations, bought his property in 2008 for $3.1 million. Albertson paid $3.1 million for his property in 2020 and built his house in 2024.
But the neighbors argued they held a community meeting in September and agreed to make several improvements. They said they were blindsided when Guss was served with the lawsuit two months later.
“Virginia Heights has responded not with anger, but with resolve,” the neighbors said in the unsigned statement. “We remain open to good-faith discussions about park management, safety protocols, and maintenance responsibilities. … But dialogue requires mutual respect and a genuine willingness to work together, not ultimatums backed by legal threats.”
“We believe shared spaces should be managed for the benefit of all, not redesigned to favor two households.”
Neighbors gathered last year at the park with homes belonging to Brian Albertson and Eric Holm in the background.
In the April lawsuit, the Holms and Albertsons said neighborhood residents left about 30 kayaks, lifejackets and oars to take up space in the storage racks at the park.
“Many of the kayaks in and around the Racks are filthy, showing no signs of use within the last year or more and are covered in dust, dirt, and mildew,” the lawsuit said.
The Holms and Albertsons also said bushes had been planted at the park “for the sole purpose of interfering with Plaintiffs’ use and enjoyment of their properties,” the lawsuit said, adding they also saw someone doing drugs in the park.
The neighbors downplayed the Holms’ and Albertsons’ allegations raised in the April lawsuit.
“The ironies are striking: claims of safety concerns that have never been reported to police; demands to remove ‘filthy’ kayaks that families use regularly; assertions that trees planted to protect shoreline ecology are ‘obstructions’; suggestions that a gate and limited hours would somehow improve community access,” they wrote in their letter.
Guss, who was named in the litigation because she helped with the boat rack inquiries, also declined to be interviewed for this story.
“Plaintiffs believe that Defendant has co-conspirators that are yet-to-be-identified members of the community,” the April lawsuit said.
The Holms and Albertsons also unsuccessfully sued Guss in 2024 to find out the kayak owners’ names.
Both sides in the neighborhood fight also believe a 1971 court order could help their case. The court judgement ordered the former owners of the properties now occupied by Holm and Albertson to take down wire fencing and landscaping they put in the park after they were challenged by Virginia Heights residents.
“It’s more than 50 years old, and people in the neighborhood interpret it differently,” Holm said in an email. “The only way to get clarity—and to make sure everyone is working from the same rules—is to obtain an updated, definitive order from the court.”
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
There are Republicans in Virginia Heights who support Guss who think the way this article was written is BS. A journalist should be unbiased. If you want to taint your writing with bias, fully go for it, but please post it as an opinion piece.
A well written piece of journalism, if you remove the one biased and irrelevant paragraph.
Wow. College Point.
I believe it was just yesterday that I—and all my 13-year-old friends—had a blanket spread beneath the oak tree on the right. It’s gone now. We were playing spin the bottle. My, the difference half a century makes—not just to the landscape, but to the level of mutual kindness and respect among neighbors.
One of my favorite people in all of Winter Park, who so graciously let me play with her children in the late 1960s, later had a neighbor push their new dock so far to the side that it sat nearly in front of her property. Was it legal? Yes. Was it kind? No.
And I find myself wondering whether kindness is even a data point in such considerations anymore.
I often wonder if those of means, when they push so aggressively against the gentle humanity around them, ever feel a sense of contrition at the end of it all. What is it like to lie on a hospital bed, looking back over a life? Do you say, I won that battle. I was the victor! Or does remorse surface—quietly at first, then flooding in, a cascade of emotion with no chance to turn the clock back?
These are big questions, meant for the souls of those involved.
As for me, I simply want to turn the clock back 53 years—to that spring day at College Point, sitting on a blanket with Martha. I remember vividly the mix of fear and joy as the bottle slowed… and landed pointing at me.
A preferred memory on that death bed, for sure!
Lovely reminiscence, John. Such a good point.
Mediator anyone?
How do you mediate when one volunteer is randomly sued ? Guss doesn’t represent the neighborhood and the neighborhood can’t represent Guss .
If the neighborhood was really trying to interfere with Holm and Albertson’s “use and enjoyment “ of the park would they have not planted something other than 3 foot bushes ?
You do like to note the size of peoples houses (past articles) and who they entertain. How is that relevant other than to stir up divisions, i.e., “…those of means…” vs “…the gentle humanity…”. Let this neighborhood sort things out privately and among themselves.
Facts like the size of homes or why individuals are well-known in the community for philanthropy, political giving, business etc. are always good context and relevant to news stories. Not everyone who reads the Voice knows Winter Park as well as others might. Those who feel facts are “negative” or “positive” are projecting their own feelings onto the story. And that’s OK. But it’s not the fault of the reporter whose job it is to weave together facts, background and context to give readers a full and comprehensive picture of the news.
Holmes is the person who installed very bright
motion-activated lights on the public road there in front of his McMansion, so that when one passes by the whole road is lit up like the county jail.
It’s probably legal to do this but so far the City has looked the other way.
The Holms and Albertsons are relative new comers who moved in and now demand new rules and regulations for the entire College Point community. They use their wealth to sue and intimidate all of the long-term community users of this quaint, tiny park located between their properties. What kind of people care less about the community they live in and only care about themselves? We are seeing similar divisions in our country due to politics and it’s a shame to see it rear its ugly head here in Winter Park.
Suing a neighbor in an effort to ‘control a park that is not theirs’ is a very poor way to blend in and work cooperatively with all community residents who, by the way, have legal deeded access to this park and Lake Virginia.
Surely the court will uphold the legally deeded rights of those who live in the College Point community and hopefully the
judge will make the two homeowners who filed this ridiculous suit pay restitution for all legal fees. Shame on these bullies for causing such frustration and discord throughout their wonderful community.
If the “Save our Park” neighborhood group starts a Go Fund Me account, I would definitely contribute to it!
For those who feel that a reporter’s assessment of the facts may potentially be biased, I humbly suggest you read the actual lawsuit filed by the Holms and Albertsons, against our Virginia Heights neighbor Stephanie Guss. It is publicly available on the Orange County Clerk Court Records database. I’m happy to provide the link below.
The neighbors of Virginia Heights who support Guss and reject the use of a lawsuit to intimidate neighbors into limiting their deeded rights have nothing to hide, and welcome everyone to read the lawsuit for themselves.
Holm and Albertson keep SAYING they want a discussion between neighbors, but their actions (filing repeated lawsuits against a neighborhood volunteer) appear to show their true intent is to bully and intimidate neighbors into capitulating to their demands.
Read lawsuit filed by Holm & Albertson here:
https://myeclerk.myorangeclerk.com/DocView/Doc?eCode=NW2cyLxOii6pzyWYJAQzdEyiZ3wUT8uFZieo2utkZFjXpysTgBXJ1SLmicRWJ2YjLu429IFDcmj4uU3PzWCixwXp7%2B1pz0hbTq0xpGt5A5NSTQ03yOyrNA%2F3Ls3wtmvphLmXPpTdX8rSk1yevEXetg%3D%3D
We will not be bullied into limiting our deeded right to use of our shared park, and feel confident that the court system will not be fooled by Holm & Albertson’s absurd claims of “dust, dirt and mildew”, “co-conspirators”, “vagrants” and “antagonizing of Plaintiffs” despite their substantially deeper pockets with which to pursue their demands, and their seemingly bottomless desire for litigation in the community.
Link does not work
It seems as the search result can’t be linked directly, probably due to the website’s “I’m not a robot” feature.
Here’s how to easily find the lawsuit manually:
Click this link, enter “Holm” in the blank to the right of “Last Name,” then click the “I’m not a robot” box and the blue “Search” button below.
Then scroll down to result number 7, and click on the case number (in blue, just to the right of the result number), “2025-CA-003838-O”.
This will bring you to the full 20 page lawsuit filed by Holm and Albertson, against Stephanie Guss, a neighbor who volunteered her time to help organize the park.
that won’t work. Go to: https://myeclerk.myorangeclerk.com
search for Eric Holm , date range 1/1/2025 to today.