Fined For Providing Free Water, Arizona Man Is Now Raising $50k For Legal Battle

Last Updated:July 15, 2025, 19:36 IST

According to the HOA, they do not have a problem with the cause, but with how it is being advertised.

David Martin has been fined on multiple occasions since last year for his act of giving out free water bottles (Pexels/Representative Image)

A homeowner in Arizona, fined repeatedly for providing free bottled water during summers, is now preparing for a legal fight against the authorities. David Martin, who lives in Goodyear, is currently busy raising $50,000 to take up the fight against his homeowners’ association (HOA), which has fined him multiple times, starting from $25.

Martin had been quietly doing what he thought was a humanitarian act by giving out free bottled water to those in need. He would leave a cooler filled with water bottles in summer on his driveway. However, little did he know that his act would end up accumulating a hefty fine for him.

The HOA in the Canyon Trails Community has been levying fines of up to $100 on multiple occasions since last summer. Martin has so far accumulated receipts citing fines worth $650. However, instead of quietly giving up or ceasing to continue the good work, Martin has decided to take the legal route against the authorities.

Martin, who believes that he is not breaking any rules, thinks it is not against the bylaws to provide water to passers-by. “There are kids, delivery drivers, people walking outside in the heat, and I want to do something to help them," Martin told The New York Post.

After being in the news for his kind act and the continued fines, Martin has decided to sue the Canyon Trails Unit 4 West Homeowners’ Association. However, according to his advocates, this would cost him nearly $50,000 in legal fees. Since he does not own that hefty amount, Martin has started selling T-shirts online to collect funds for the case. The T-shirts come with a message promoting his cause of providing free water to those in need.

However, according to the HOA, they do not have a problem with the cause, but with how it is being advertised. Speaking to 12News, the board clarified, “The community’s rules do not allow a resident to advertise water bottle distribution from a portable ice chest, located next to their garage that is visible from neighbouring property."

For Martin, his act doesn’t break any laws since he takes the poster and cooler inside at night and puts them out only during the day. Moreover, he says that if the court finds the act to be a violation of the rules, he will find another way to provide free water but will not give up the cause.

New York, United States of America (USA)

News world Fined For Providing Free Water, Arizona Man Is Now Raising $50k For Legal Battle