Class Action Nets $19.2M for Fla. State Cut Citrus Trees

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Late last week, a jury decision awarded Florida homeowners $19.2 million in a class action lawsuit accusing the state of Florida of cutting over 66,000 healthy citrus trees in Palm Beach County.

Lead plaintiffs, Palm Beach County homeowners, alleged in their class action lawsuit that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services wrongly destroyed the trees as a part of a Citrus Canker Eradication Program from 2000 to 2006 that ultimately failed. In order to combat citrus canker, an incurable bacterial disease, the state of Florida initially required all trees within 125 feet of an infected tree be removed and later increased the requirement to 1,900 feet. The state promised compensation at a rate of $100 per healthy exposed tree removed by the state.

A previous jury awarded a similar amount in 2013 and a state appeals court affirmed that the jury’s finding that the state of Florida was liable. This jury verdict came after a two-week trial. The replacement cost of the trees was based on the average of the state-recorded heights of the trees that were removed and came to $298.71 for 11-foot trees and $447.78 for 17-foot trees.

The state previously awarded Wal-Mart gift cards it already sent out and an offset will be awarded to the state amounting to $3.1 million for gift cards that were distributed.

One of the plaintiffs’ attorneys stated he was pleased that the jury agreed the thousands of citrus trees were worth far more than the initial amount offered by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. He stressed that none of the trees that were cut down were infected with citrus canker and that the department destroyed them anyway as part of an effort to protect the state’s commercial citrus industry.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs expect the state to appeal the verdict, meaning that homeowners may have to wait awhile longer before they receive payment. If the verdict is upheld, the funds will automatically be distributed to eligible Class Members, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Other class action lawsuits were filed in various Florida counties. Lee County homeowners were awarded $9.8 million and Orange County homeowners were awarded $20.6 million.

The plaintiffs are represented by Robert C. Gilbert of Grossman Roth PA and William S. Williams of Lytal Reiter Smith Ivey & Fonrath LLP. The Department of Agriculture is represented by Wesley R. Parsons of Clarke Silverglate PA.

The Florida State Citrus Tree Removal Class Action Lawsuit is Mendez, et al. v. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, et al., Case No. 02-13717, in the Circuit Court for the 15th Judicial Circuit of Florida.