Oral argument was had Monday, June 22nd, in Key West, before Florida's Third District Court of Appeal, in the Condemnation Blight case of Florida DEP v. West, et al., that resulted in a $6.9 million judgment for two parcels that the state "quick-took" for $630,000 in 2004. (Details on MattsonLaw.com) The panel included Chief Judge Gersten and District Judges Suarez and Rothenberg. Judges Gersten and Suarez were on the panels in Collins v. Monroe County and Shands v City of Marathon one year ago (June 30, 2008). The Landowners prevailed in both Collins and Shands, and Judge Suarez signed both opinions.
It was obvious that Judge Rothenberg had read the briefs. She came out of the box at the State's attorney (for whom this was the first appeal he had ever briefed or argued) when he presented his theory that "this is not 'condemnation blight,' but was a regulatory taking in 1982." Judge Rothenberg punctured the State's balloon when she referred to the holding in Tahoe-Sierra -- that moratoria are "temporary takings," and that temporary takings do not accrue until they end. So much for the State's statute of limitations theory.
The West case is a superb example of condemnation blight. We thank Gideon Kanner for his life's work in this area. Most Florida Keys condemnation cases have been "lightly defended" by mainland Florida eminent domain lawyers (with one major exception, Doug Halsey), who had no clue what happened from 1982 forward. However, as Senior District Judge Alan Schwartz said in one of our oral arguments several years ago, "the courts don't exist to protect people from the use of their pens." We realize most owners of condemned Florida Keys properties could have used the condemnation blight strategy we used in this case, but their attorneys were unfamiliar with the facts on the ground.
Chief Judge Gersten asked both sides if they considered the State's theory of the case "fair." My response is obvious. The State's response was "I will not say this is fair, but we are governed by laws."
One of those laws is the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and that "law" requires the government to act in a fair and equitable manner when it condemns property (or does anything else). Keep checking back to learn how this comes out. The Third District Court of Appeal releases its decisions on Wednesdays, at about 10:30 AM.
It was obvious that Judge Rothenberg had read the briefs. She came out of the box at the State's attorney (for whom this was the first appeal he had ever briefed or argued) when he presented his theory that "this is not 'condemnation blight,' but was a regulatory taking in 1982." Judge Rothenberg punctured the State's balloon when she referred to the holding in Tahoe-Sierra -- that moratoria are "temporary takings," and that temporary takings do not accrue until they end. So much for the State's statute of limitations theory.
The West case is a superb example of condemnation blight. We thank Gideon Kanner for his life's work in this area. Most Florida Keys condemnation cases have been "lightly defended" by mainland Florida eminent domain lawyers (with one major exception, Doug Halsey), who had no clue what happened from 1982 forward. However, as Senior District Judge Alan Schwartz said in one of our oral arguments several years ago, "the courts don't exist to protect people from the use of their pens." We realize most owners of condemned Florida Keys properties could have used the condemnation blight strategy we used in this case, but their attorneys were unfamiliar with the facts on the ground.
Chief Judge Gersten asked both sides if they considered the State's theory of the case "fair." My response is obvious. The State's response was "I will not say this is fair, but we are governed by laws."
One of those laws is the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and that "law" requires the government to act in a fair and equitable manner when it condemns property (or does anything else). Keep checking back to learn how this comes out. The Third District Court of Appeal releases its decisions on Wednesdays, at about 10:30 AM.
