A Harrison County jury slapped MDOT with a $6.2 million verdict after a developer sued MDOT for an improper taking of property it owned south of I-10. The lawsuit was filed in 2009 in Harrison County Circuit Court. Anita Lee reported in the Sun-Herald:
A Circuit Court jury in Harrison County recently delivered a $6.2 million verdict against the Mississippi State Department of Transportation’s governing commission, finding the damages are owed to development company Ward Properties Gulfport LP.
The jury said MDOT owes Ward Properties the money for taking 1,300 acres along the city’s commercial corridor in connection with a state port connector road that is now in limbo. The amount represents lost development opportunity for the property that sits south of Interstate 10 and west of U.S. 49.
A federal environmental permit issued to MDOT tied up the land from 2009 through 2012.
MDOT has not decided whether to appeal the decision, but is weighing its options, said the agency’s attorney, Christopher Howdeshell of Hattiesburg.
Attorneys for Ward Properties also are seeking $378,329 in attorney’s fees from MDOT. Judge Larry Bourgeois, who presided over the case, will enter a final judgment only after he decides whether MDOT should pay those fees.
The Ward family of Louisiana has been trying for years to develop the land, but has met with resistance from the community. Most of the property is wetlands. MDOT argued the property had no value for development, but the Wards currently propose development of 524 acres for mixed use. The project is undergoing extensive environmental review and includes features meant to alleviate flooding... Rest of article.
Ouch.
5 comments:
One could almost bet there was some politics involved. I could name several similar situations, but one comes to mind when the city of Biloxi, took/stole property from homeowners for the baseball stadium/parking area. Good for the Wards. I hope they prevail.
At least in this case when the government is taking property they are paying something - unlike the government taking the airport from the citizens of Jackson.
4:31 is here to represent 'the reparations crowd'. If the airport is being taken, it's being taken by the government from the government. Apples and apples. Either you have government taking from government or citizens taking from citizens. You can't mix your players at will. They is or they ain't.
Usually if you own something, you benefit from the ownership. No citizen in Jackson benefits from Jackson owning the airport and no citizen of Mississippi will directly benefit from a state takeover. We can argue all day over tangential benefits of ownership.
plus,4:31 the State created and oversees Cities. If a City goes crazy then the State must step in a protect its citizens. By the way the City of Jackson is past being just crazy.
The City of Jackson is past being just crazy. But that is not why the state took the property owned by the city. The citizens of Flowood want to develop the land around the airport. Yes, it does affect the citizens of Jackson because the revenue from the development of that property will not accrue to the city, thus to the citizens.
To say that the citizens of Jackson don't benefit from the ownership of the airport is nothing but a stupid statement. If the revenue from the airport reduces the amount of taxes it takes to operate the city or to provide services, then that is a benefit to the citizens.
Much more to see on this matter before it is over
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