FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, December 17, 2010
CONTACT: Ryan Houck
TEL: (407) 496-4035
EMAIL: RHouck@Florida2010.org
COURT DECISION SENDS WARNING TO PREDATORY LAWYERS
State appeals court rules that so-call environmental groups must pick up the tab for "frivolous" lawsuits
(Orlando, FL - December 17, 2010) After years of clogging up the courts with frivolous lawsuits and then sticking taxpayers with the bill, anti-free market interest groups finally got a taste of their own medicine.
Earlier this week, Florida's First District Court of Appeals ordered 1000 Friends of Florida and the Martin County Conservation Alliance to repay Florida taxpayers for attorneys fees incurred during the course of a land-use appeals case. (Read the court's opinion here)
Environmental groups quickly predicted that the ruling would have a "chilling" effect on future litigation.
"Good," said Ryan Houck, executive director of Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy. "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. 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."
Litigation stemmed from the 2007 passage of Martin County's Land Protection Incentives Amendment. The amendment to the county's comprehensive plan permitted property owners to cluster houses in exchange for preserving the rest of the land. The amendment did not increase the number of houses permitted on the property and an Administrative Law Judge ruled that the amendment would not create sprawl or more development.
Paid political advertisement - paid for and sponsored by Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy, Inc., 610 South Blvd., Tampa, FL 33606
Note: Maybe this will “chill” the lawsuit-crazed environmentalists against the Indian Street Bridge Project.
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