Tampa businessman jailed over backyard pickleball court, agrees to demolish it

Before a retreat host adds a court, guesthouse or pool, check the plat map, utility easements and buildability status first. Michael Martin’s Beach Park project became the warning sign: a backyard amenity package ended with jail time, a contempt finding and an order to tear everything down.

Martin was released from jail on Friday, May 8, after agreeing to demolish a guesthouse, pool and pickleball court built behind his South Tampa home. FOX 13 reported that he had been jailed after losing his latest challenge at the appellate level and refusing to comply with the demolition order until his legal team said it would move ahead with the teardown.

The dispute goes back to 2021, when the Babbitt family sued Martin and the City of Tampa over the project. Martin had bought adjacent lots in 2017 and later built on what had been an old, vacant cul-de-sac. His attorney said he followed the city’s permitting process, and the city initially approved the home, guest house, pickleball court and pool. Courts later ruled the property was not legally buildable, making the demolition order binding.

Judge Christopher Nash found the construction violated plat restrictions dating to 1924. Court reporting says the civil case now has more than 500 filings, a sign of how far the fight has escalated. WFLA reported that the guest house sat within a utility easement that had never been invalidated or released by the city, and that the Babbitts argued the structure was also sitting on space reserved as public area on the plat.

The neighbor dispute was never just about concrete and fences. WFLA reported that Barbara Babbitt told city officials in 2021 she was worried about wildlife loss, privacy and property value. The Babbitts’ lawyer also said the guest house was seven feet from their pool and blocked their backyard use. In response, Martin removed windows facing the Babbitts’ property and planted bamboo along the property line.

Martin spent nearly three weeks in jail after a judge held him in contempt for not following the order. FOX 13 reported that his legal team argued demolition would moot the appeal because the challenged structures would be destroyed. The Babbitts’ side said a contract with Dynamite Demolition required payment of $392,372.50 before the teardown could begin.

The case has wider implications for anyone building pickleball infrastructure near homes. FOX 13 reported in August 2025 that Hillsborough County commissioners even considered pausing new pickleball permits near neighborhoods after a noise lawsuit pushed the issue into public view. In Martin’s case, a backyard sports amenity became a land-use fight that reached the courts, the jail and, now, demolition.