Illustrative appellate and trial court decisions in which the firm has represented the interests of owners include the following:
Brevard County v. A. Duda & Sons, Inc., 742 So. 2d 476 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999)
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Condemnor may not justify a decreased payment of compensation by making vague promises to cure future problems. A condemnor’s failure to adhere to its construction plans may give rise to an action by landowner for additional damages.
Broward County v. LaPointe, 685 So.2d 889 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)
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Held that condemning authority could not reduce its obligation to reimburse a landowner’s attorneys fees on account of having made a conditional purchase offer, subject to substantial reduction for contamination remediation.
City of Dania v. Broward County, 658 So.2d 163 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)
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Loss of future taxes was not a property interest of sufficient “direct and immediate character” to justify City’s intervention in eminent domain proceeding.
City of Fort Lauderdale v. Coolidge-South Markets Equities, L.P., Order Dismissing Petition for Eminent Domain (Judge Robert Andrews, 21 March 2002)
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Denied condemnation of downtown riverfront property upon finding that public purpose was lacking; court rejected city’s assertion that site was needed for historic preservation, finding that proposed taking had instead been mere desire of a special interest group.
City of Miami v. Florida East Coast Railway Co., 428 So. 2d 674 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983), rev. den. 443 So. 2d 979
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Condemnor is required to pay interest for the time between the date it takes possession of the property and the date full compensation is paid to the landowner.
City of Miami v. Wolfe, 150 So. 2d 489 (Fla. 3d DCA 1963)
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Bad faith eminent domain action filed by City was dismissed.
County of Sarasota v. Burdette, 524 So. 2d 1064 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988)
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Condemnor is required to pay for all landowner’s reasonable costs incurred in the defense of his case, including a fee to an appraiser who prepares a report but does not testify at trial.
Dade County v. Southeast Recycling Corp., 422 So. 2d 1036 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982)
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Appraisals using sales which reflect decreased value due to comdemnor’s project are excluded from evidence.
Department of Transp. v. Barbara’s Creative Jewelry, Inc., 728 So.2d 240 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)
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Represented owner in attempt to prevent Department’s efforts to avoid paying business damages through an “economic whole taking” of property.
Department of Transp. v. Profundo, Inc., 5 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 674 (Fla. 13th Circuit Court, 1998)
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Where government declares its intention to condemn property in the future, yet does not actually condemn the property, the government may be liable for damages sustained by its substantial interference with the property owner’s use and enjoyment of the land.
Finkelstein v. Department of Transp., 656 So. 2d 921 (Fla. 1995)
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Evidence of contamination may be relevant in an eminent domain valuation trial, but may not be admitted to suggest lower compensation unless the government first proffers sales of similarly contaminated properties to corroborate any allegedly negative impact on market value.
Joint Ventures, Inc. v. Department of Transp., 563 So. 2d 622 (Fla. 1990)
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Florida Supreme Court struck down state statute allowing Department of Transportation to indefinitely reserve future rights of way by prohibiting construction of any structures within filed “maps of reservation.” The statute was invalid as a violation of the takings clause.
Malone v. Department of Transp., 438 So. 2d 857 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983), rev. den., 450 So. 2d 487
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Moving costs are part of the “full compensation” required by the Florida Constitution because they are necessary to make the owner “whole.”
National Advertising Co. v. Department of Transp., 611 So. 2d 566 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)
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Just compensation includes lost value for a “grandfathered” non-conforming land use, such as the leasehold interest in a billboard.
Palm Beach County v. Tessler, 538 So. 2d 846 (Fla. 1989)
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Unreasonable interference with a landowner’s access to his property may give rise to an action for inverse condemnation against the government.
Pitz v. State Road Dept., 32 Fla. Supp. 55 (11th Cir. Ct. 1966)
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Property owner entitled to loss of rental income occurring prior to the date of taking if the tenants vacated and the property owner could not get another tenant due to the impending condemnation.
Rinker Materials Corp. v. City of North Miami, 286 So. 2d 552 (Fla. 1973)
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Zoning ordinances should be interpreted as broadly as possible in favor of the landowner; if there is no clear prohibition of a certain land use, that use must be permitted.
Royal World Metropolitan, Inc. v. City of Miami Beach, 863 So. 2d 320 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2003)
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Rejected attempt by City to nullify compensation provisions of the Bert J. Harris Private Property Rights Protection Act on the grounds of “sovereign immunity,” and confirmed legislative intent to create a cause of action for compensation if property is inordinately burdened by land use regulation.
Rukab v. City of Jacksonville Beach, 811 So.2d 727 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002)
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Confirming right of every affected landowner to challenge “blight” designation, even if condemnation of property sought years after court ruled against another landowner on the same issue.
Sarasota County v. Taylor Woodrow Homes Ltd., 652 So. 2d 1247 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1997)
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Government cannot require a landowner to give up a constitutionally protected property right in exchange for a discretionary benefit unless there is a reasonable relationship between the benefit and the resulting public impact.
Seminole County v. Coral Gables Federal Savings & Loan Assoc., 691 So.2d 614 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997)
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Rejecting County’s attempt to circumvent requirement to pay for owner’s attorneys fees incurred in the defense of eminent domain action.
Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Auth. v. A.G.W.S. Corp., 640 So. 2d 54 (Fla. 1994)
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Represented owner in quest for temporary taking compensation arising from filing of “map of reservation” by expressway authority. The court acknowledged that it is an abuse of power for a government to regulate property to an extent that effects a taking of private property. The government may choose to discontinue the intrusive regulation or to pay full compensation for what has been taken.
Taylor v. Department of Transp., 701 So. 2d 610 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997)
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Won the right to present evidence of severance damages to the jury even though the damages were caused by actions on land taken other than our clients.
Texaco, Inc. v. Department of Transp., 537 So. 2d 92 (Fla. 1989)
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Business damages and lost profits are not constitutionally protected property rights. However, business damages may be awarded in cases of a partial taking of a business that has been located on that property for five or more years.
York v. South Florida Water Management District, (Fla. 15th Circuit Court, 1995)
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Obtained order establishing new cause of action for “oppressive pre-condemnation conduct” requiring compensation to landowner for deliberate delay in filing condemnation proceedings in order to leverage acquisition negotiations.