Appeal ruled frivolous costs environmental groups

Two environmental groups are doing more than licking their wounds after losing an appeal of a growth management case.

The Martin County Conservation Alliance and 1000 Friends of Florida, a statewide growth management advocacy group, were ordered to repay Florida taxpayers and developers for attorneys fees due as the result of a land-use appeals case. Those costs are expected to exceed $20,000.

The fees are due to the Florida Department of Community Affairs, Martin County and two development firms, Martin Island Way and Island Way. The state agency, however, did not support the ruling on the fees.

Florida's First District Court of Appeals, in Tallahassee, ordered the two environmental groups to pay the fees after they appealed a case tied to a 2007 Martin County land protection incentives amendment. That amendment allowed property owners to cluster development onto smaller lots in exchange for putting half the land in open space.

The court found that the appeal was “frivolous” and “without merit,” and also found that “ ... this appeal is nothing more than an attempt to retry facts determined adversely to Appellants ....”

“Environmental groups quickly predicted that the ruling would have a 'chilling' effect on future litigation,” according to a press release from Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy.

To which, Ryan Houck, its executive director, responded, “Good. Taxpayers have been footing the bill for this type of frivolous, dead-end litigation for years while special interest groups abuse the legal system with impunity.”

Houck didn't end there, adding, “Too often, these lawsuits are simply a tool of the anti-free market agenda, designed to obstruct job-creation at taxpayer expense. Policymakers should follow the court's lead and take action to deter this type of costly, frivolous litigation in the future.”

Touche!

Houck likely has a receptive audience with the Republican-dominated Legislature having veto-proof majorities in both chambers, plus the platform of Gov.-elect Rick Scott that takes aim at over-regulation and frivolous litigation that adversely impacts businesses and job creation.