‘We Are The Prey’: Florida Man Tries To Buy A House In The Keys. It’s A Complete Disaster

A man says his attempt to retire in the Florida Keys led to lawsuits, weeks of investigation, and the discovery of what he claims is a massive conspiracy.

Across a series of videos, Dr. Kevin Newfield, a retired orthopedic surgeon, recounts how his decision to move to Marathon, Florida in retirement has been a disaster. According to him, it has turned into a years-long legal battle involving his neighbor, real estate professionals, courts, insurers, the local government and more.

Now, he says he’s issuing a warning to all those who are considering buying in the Florida Keys area.

“We retirees—we are the prey. And the systems here in the Florida Keys are here to steal from us,” he claims. He later adds, “The corruption here extends at every level, from the sellers, to the brokers, to the closing attorneys and the judicial system.”

What Happened To This Man’s Property?

According to Newfield, he purchased a property in Marathon, Florida, around 2018 as a place to live in retirement. The property is “landlocked,” meaning that it does not connect directly to a public road. Instead, it relies on an easement for access. This essentially means that, in order to get from the road to his property, he has to go across someone else’s property, and he has permission to do so.

His understanding during the purchasing process was that his property would have access to the road via an ingress/egress easement. A nearby parcel, which he calls the “garden” lot, would also be able to access the ocean via an easement on his property.

Just before the end of the due diligence period, however, he says he was presented with documents that showed a modified easement agreement. Believing it was effectively the same arrangement with the same purpose, he says he signed them.

At this point, trouble started, he says.

Things Start Going Wrong

Two years after he bought the property, Newfield says his next-door neighbor began using his property in ways that he says were beyond the scope of the easement.

“We realized that there was heavy equipment—bulldozers, front loaders, backhoes—being driven across our property,” Newfield states. “We even had vans full of men with guns shooting iguanas, driving on our property while we sat in our hot tub.”

Concerned, Newfield says he hung up string to block access to the easement. In response, he says his neighbor filed a lawsuit against him, saying that he had infringed on the legal rights afforded to her in the easement.

The lawsuit triggered a period of discovery, during which time Newfield says he uncovered troubling information. For example, he appears to allege that the seller, broker, closing attorney, and neighbor all knew about the broader intended use of the easement before the sale but failed to disclose it. As evidence, he cites an email allegedly from the broker.

“The neighbor wrote the broker and said, ‘Do the new buyers know about my use of their property?’ And his answer was, ‘They didn’t ask, and I didn’t tell,’” Newfield claims.

Newfield further alleges that multiple parties met at the property during the due diligence period to discuss its use without notifying him.

Conflicts Of Interest

Newfield says that there were multiple conflicts of interest during this whole process. For example, he claims the closing attorney had multiple overlapping roles: acting as the closing agent, title insurance representative, drafter of both the original and modified easements, attorney for the neighbor, and even registered agent for the broker.

Eventually, he says the case went to trial. Although Newfield says both sides initially agreed that the contract language was clear, “the judge decides that he feels there’s an ambiguity in the contract.”

In short, Newfield lost the case. Instead of the current easement, he claims the judge demanded a new easement be drawn up. This resulted in significantly more rights for the neighbor. Shortly after the case, the judge recused himself. Newfield appealed, but he says “the only thing we received back was one word: affirmed.”

As the case continued, new judges were assigned, though there were additional recusals due to conflicts of interest, Newfield continues. During this time, there were discovery disputes. According to Newfield, key parties, particularly the seller, failed to produce emails and text messages, claiming they could not access old accounts.

“The seller seems to have lost her marbles,” he summarizes. “She doesn’t remember anything, and she can’t get into her emails … She’s lost the passwords—every excuse in the world to not provide the evidence that she should have had related to this case.”

He alleges that despite evidence of missing communications, the court ruled against him and even ordered him to pay the opposing party’s legal fees.

The Saga Continues

From here, things got worse. Newfield says a motion to dismiss filed by the seller’s attorney was granted without a hearing or opportunity for his side to respond. This was especially problematic, he says, because the motion contained “about five different citings of information… that were fabricated.”

“They were hallucinations,” he states. “Quotes that never existed. Cases that didn’t pertain to what he said.”

There were also other issues. Newfield claims that a court ordered the removal of vegetation from the easement area. This, he says, led to erosion, in turn exposing a buried rock wall that the neighbor had allegedly built without a permit.

Following this, problems arose with the Florida Keys Electric Cooperative (FKEC). Newfield says that the utility demanded he repair or replace a deteriorating power pole located on his neighbor’s property. He countered by saying it was not his responsibility, saying the responsibility belonged to FKEC. While he claims FKEC eventually acknowledged this, they did not take action.

This spiraled into a lawsuit involving both the utility and the neighbor. Eventually, Newfield says it was determined that he had to relocate utilities at his own expense. This included placing infrastructure in a location that interferes with his plans to build a new home. He also claims the utility has refused to properly connect power to the new setup and has threatened to shut off his electricity.

“They are threatening to have our electricity turned off,” he says, “which, to us, is basically an eviction from our home.”

There Are Even More Issues

Newfield claims his insurers tried to avoid covering his case. His title insurer denied it, while his homeowners insurer briefly withdrew before defending again while simultaneously suing to avoid liability.

The City of Marathon, Newfield states, has been uncooperative in all of this. He claims that the city improperly approved his property setup and withheld records, and that local officials failed to address significant safety and environmental issues. As a result, Newfield says he found himself having to handle these issues himself.

Beyond this, Newfield also alleged that a judge harassed his attorney, and that his own legal representation failed to disclose relevant concerns about appearing before that judge. These issues, he says, are endemic, and speak to bigger problems in Florida.

“It’s almost like we live in a banana republic,” he summarizes. In another section, he adds, “There is heavy, heavy corruption here.”

Commenters Have Thoughts

In the comments section, some users said that these sorts of issues were uncommon. Many users cited their own experience as evidence.

“I bought and sold several properties in the Keys, Duck Key. Marathon, Key Largo, etc, made money and never had a problem,” wrote a user.

“I’ve been living in south Florida since 1976. All of the people that I know and own properties in the Florida keys will say the exact opposite,” offered another.

However, others countered that they had seen issues with the Florida real estate market.

“Florida is definitely not the State to retire. It is total corruption without compassion,” said a user. “I was born and raised in FL. I know exactly how it works.”

“Nightmare… I also relocated and it’s has been an absolute disaster. I am so sorry you are also experiencing the hardship,” stated a second.

BroBible reached out to Newfield via TikTok direct message and comment.