Developer vindicated

A Florida appeals court upheld a Sarasota County judge's decision in a high-profile case where developer Hugh Culverhouse Jr. accused other developers of cutting him out of a lucrative mixed-use project through political machinations.

The ruling from the Second District Court of Appeals, handed down April 28, is another vindication for the targets of Culverhouse's lawsuit, fellow prominent Sarasota area developers Henry Rodriguez and Randy Benderson. The appeals court ruling also keeps in place a decision from the trial judge, Sarasota County Circuit Court Judge Peter Dubensky, to invalidate a $20 million jury verdict that initially went against Rodriguez and Benderson. While the $20 million verdict was wiped out, a $150,000 judgment against an entity controlled by University Park-based Benderson Development remained in place.

“I am pleased that it's over,” Rodriguez says in a written statement emailed to the Business Observer. “Both sides had excellent advocates.”