In 2015, Plaintiffs Shaw Farms & Land Company of Florida, LLC, and Dania Place, LLC (collectively, "Shaw") filed a lawsuit for inverse condemnation against Broward County. The lawsuit alleges that, as a result of the expansion of FLL's south runway, the County affected a taking of the Shaw properties, which are located near Taylor Road and NE 10th Street immediately south of the South Runway. The Shaw properties at issue are approximately 40 acres. The Complaint alleges that construction-related activities caused continuous flooding to the Shaw properties and eliminated certain vehicular access. To date, the County has been defended in the action by insurance defense counsel under a reservation of rights that purports to permit the insurance company to ultimately deny insurance coverage.
The County filed the Insurance case against the insurance company, asking the court to declare that damages claimed by Shaw are covered by the applicable insurance policy. Additionally, the County has asserted claims in the Shaw case seeking indemnification from the project contractor and designers regarding their actions in connection with the flooding and resulting damages claimed by Shaw.
On September 1, 2017, in the Shaw case, the state trial court entered an Order of Taking against the County, concluding that the construction activities affected a complete taking of part of the properties (the "DDK Parcel" comprising approximately seven (7) acres) and of more than 500 palm trees on the DDK Parcel, plus the taking of a "permanent flowage easement" over the remaining part of the properties. Pursuant to court order, and as authorized by the Board, the County recently submitted a written offer of compensation for the property interests taken.
The parties are currently attempting to achieve a mediated settlement of the Shaw case. While no resolution has yet been achieved, the amount in dispute has narrowed. It is expected that any settlement of the Shaw case will require a resolution of all of the County's claims, including claims raised in the Insurance case.
The Shaw case is currently set to go to trial in mid-March. It is expected that the trial date would be delayed if the parties reach a settlement (which would be subject to Board approval). This agenda item sets a private attorney-client meeting for March 20 to obtain Board guidance in connection with the potential settlement.
The subject matter of the private attorney-client meeting shall be limited to the matters stated in Section 286.011(8), Florida Statutes. The meeting will be recorded by a certified court reporter.
|