FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 11, 2019
CONTACT: Marcy LaHart, 352-545-7001
or marcy@floridaanimallawyer.com
Notorious settlement between Lakepoint and South Florida Water Management District challenged as void for violating Florida’s Sunshine Law
After years of contentious litigation involving a suit filed by Lake Point Phase I, LLC and Lake Point Phase II, LLC against the South Florida Water Management District, the District’s Governing Board held a meeting with its General Counsel Brian Accardo behind closed doors to discuss the case. Moments after the closed-door meeting concluded, and without advance release of the settlement agreement or public discussion regarding its merits, the District’s Board voted unanimously to settle the case on terms that were at the time undisclosed. According to a lawsuit filed Monday, March 11, 2019, the first day of “Government in the Sunshine Week,“ this sort of ceremonious pageantry to formally accept an agreement that had already been decided upon entirely behind closed doors blatantly violates Florida’s open government laws.