Monroe County Pleased With Verdict In Galleon Bay Takings Case

a jury of six Monroe County citizens concluded the latest chapter in the long-running case of Galleon Bay Corp. v. Monroe County and the State of Florida. After hearing 7 days of testimony, the jury valued 13 lots on remote No Name Key at $285,000. That value is $2.7 million less than a previous jury had valued those lots during a prior trial in 2006. Galleon Bay had rejected that $3 million award in 2006 and successfully sought a new trial claiming at the time that it was entitled to millions more.

“The jury’s decision is a tremendous victory for the taxpayers of Monroe County and the State of Florida, our partners in this matter,” County Attorney Bob Shillinger said. “The jury wisely factored in all the obstacles to development in 2001 and rejected the wildly inflated value claims of the developers.”

Due to a 2012 ruling by the Third District Court of Appeal, the jury was instructed to value each of the lots based on the value of the vacant land in 2001, with the assumption that they had allocations under the County’s state-mandated Rate of Growth Ordinance. That is the year Monroe County denied Galleon Bay Corp.’s request for administration relief (exceptions to the regulations) to develop a 14-home complex, primarily due to objections to the development by the then state Department of Community Affairs. That state agency oversaw and limited development in the Keys due to the County being in the state-imposed Area of Critical Concern.

At trial, the County argued that the property suffered numerous regulatory and market burdens for which the County was not responsible, including its inclusion in the Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) and resulting ineligibility for Federal Flood Insurance.

“A developer in 2001 also would have faced numerous other obstacles, including lack of utilities, United States Fish & Wildlife Service opposition to development under the Endangered Species Act, deed restrictions prohibiting pets and requiring a combined commercial fishing and residential use, Assistant County Attorney Derek Howard said. “There also was the issue of mosquitos.”

The $285,000 value will be used by Circuit Judge Mark Jones to compute the actual damages to be awarded, which will include interest on the value of the lots up until the time each was awarded a Rate of Growth Ordinance (ROGO) allocation.

In 1990, the Schleu family, under the name the Galleon Bay Corp., originally proposed building 42 homes on remote No Name Key. That proposal was reduced to 14 homes after concerns were expressed by County, State and Federal agencies. Since filing suit, Galleon Bay has accumulated enough points in the ROGO process to be awarded several allocations.

In 2006, then Circuit Court Judge Richard G. Payne ruled that the county had taken away Galleon Bay Corp’s property by regulation. A jury determined the County and State owed the corporation $3 million for the land. Payne later set the verdict aside at the request of Galleon Bay.

Payne retired that same year and Judge David Audlin took over the case. Audlin vacated Payne’s ruling on liability and agreed to rehear the government’s arguments in the case. Galleon Bay was successful in recusing Audlin from the case, and Circuit Court Judge Mark Jones took over. In 2011, he ruled that the Galleon Bay Corp. failed to prove that its property was the subject of a regulatory taking. But the Third District Court of Appeal in 2012 overturned that ruling and ordered Jones to hold a new trial to determine the amount of money Galleon Bay Corp. was entitled.

“I want to commend Assistant County Attorneys Derek Howard and Peter Morris for their outstanding efforts on behalf of the County,” Shillinger said. “I also want to thank Assistant Attorneys Jon Glogau and David Grossman, who jointly defended the case on behalf of our partners at the State of Florida.”

Attorneys Andrew Tobin and Bart Smith represented the landowner.

[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]