JaxPort Abandons Eminent Domain Case

(Crystal Proenza is associate editor of Real Estate Florida.)

JACKSONVILLE, FL-In May, GlobeSt.com reported that after two years of legal battle, Fort Myers-based Keystone Coal Co. won the battle against the Jacksonville Port Authority in a highly publicized eminent domain case. While JaxPort had valued a desired 70-acre tract along the St. Johns River at $17 million, the jury valued the property at $67.4 million. Now, more than two months after the verdict, the port has decided to abandon the taking of the land.

“I think the intent of JaxPort was to not only take the property, but attempt to take the bargain that Keystone Coal President Tom Scholl received when he purchased the property,” eminent domain attorney Andrew Brigham of Brigham Moore LLP, tells GlobeSt.com. Keystone had secured the land through a letter of commitment to buy for $8 million in 2005 to develop a deep-water coal and bulk cargo terminal. Shortly after, JaxPort began to take eminent domain proceedings.