Impact Fees: Tentative settlement agreement “Entered Into” – When will the City Commission Act?

Submitted by Adam Kaufman
Legal Analyst
October 9, 2014 5:38 p.m.

The attorneys for the parties to Fernandina’ s “Impact Fee” lawsuits informed the Florida Supreme Court on October 7, that they have “entered into a tentative Settlement Agreement.”

The motion filed with the Court acknowledges that the Settlement Agreement requires “final approval of the City Commission” but does not specify when such public meeting is to be scheduled now that the parties have reached “tentative” agreement.

The motion papers inform the Court that the agreement will establish “a settlement class” and provide for claims administration subject to approval of the trial court. There is no indication in the filing with the Supreme Court of the breath and scope of “the class” or what the “settlement consideration” or payment to members of that class might be.

The parties have requested the Court to cancel oral argument and defer consideration of the appeal by the City brought in the so-called “bond validation” proceeding, litigation brought by the City in an attempt to validate bonds supported by water utility impact fees.

In January of this year now Federal Court Judge Brian Davis found that the impact fees imposed by the City did not comply with Florida law and therefore could not be used to secure a bond funding a five million dollar obligation that was incurred as a result of the City’s purchase of the water utility from Florida Public Utilities in 2002.

The attorneys for the parties have similarly requested delay of a ruling by the First District Court of Appeal in the appeal by the City in the separate class action suit brought by Joanne Conlon challenging the imposition of the water utility impact fees. In that related proceeding Judge Davis authorized the class action suit brought by Conlon against the City.

The notice to the Supreme Court underscores that the settlement will require “approval by the trial court of various implementation components and then actual implementation before it can be fully final.” The attorneys suggest that the settlement can be fully implemented within the next 180 days.

Based upon public information requests the Observer estimates that the City has spent some $700,000 on attorneys’ fees in litigating the Conlon “class action” suit and the “bond validation” proceeding.

Editor’s Note: The Fernandina Observer’s legal analyst, Adam Kaufman, has covered the impact fee lawsuit extensively. We have placed previous articles for your review below.

Impact fee class action arguments at the Court of Appeal

“The $5,000,000 – Impact Fee Lawsuit Day 1”

“Impact Fees – “A paper napkin calculation?”

Adam Kaufman is a semi-retired mediator and attorney. A graduate of Northwestern University School of Law, he was born and raised in the Bronx, NY. and attended NYC public schools, including Stuyvesant High School. He still serves on the American Arbitration Association Labor Panel. From 1994 – 2005, he was Regional Director for the New York State Public Employment Relations Board.