Riviera Beach Homeowners Celebrate Success Over City Plan to Confiscate Homes for Private Developer

Jerry and Rene Corie Withdraw Lawsuit After City Reverses Course

Riviera Beach, FL; May 10, 2007: Local homeowners Jerry and Rene Corie today withdrew their lawsuit against an illegal city plan to confiscate their home and other houses, because the city's agreement to transfer the property to a developer has expired and the newly elected mayor and city council oppose going forward with the plan.

"The Cories' lawsuit succeeded in raising awareness of the city's illegal scheme to violate the right of its citizens to be secure in their own homes," said Valerie A. Fernandez, managing attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation's Atlantic Center, who represented the Cories and the Coalition for Property Rights in the litigation.   "The Cories' determination to fight for their rights helped create the momentum that stalled and killed what would have been a gross violation of justice and the clear commands of state law."

Last year, then-Gov. Jeb Bush signed legislation to stop the use of use of eminent domain to transfer private property to developers and other commercial interests.   But the Riviera Beach City Council raced to pass a resolution authorizing a contract between the city and a private developer, mere hours before Gov. Bush signed the statewide ban on eminent-domain abuse.

The PLF Atlantic Center lawsuit, on behalf of the Cories and the Coalition for Property Rights, sought to bar the city from moving forward with its plan.   A separate lawsuit, on behalf of other property owners, was filed by the Arlington, VA-based Institute for Justice.    In the meantime, elections led to the ouster of the mayor and the city council members who supported the abusive eminent domain plan, and the city's agreement with the private developer was allowed to lapse.

"We went to court with the PLF Atlantic Center to stand up for property rights, for state law and for the taxpayers," said Rene Corie.   "We were determined to stop the city from acting as if it was above the law."

"What a relief to be out from under the thumb of government officials who showed so little concern for the rights of homeowners," Rene Corie continued.   "For years now, we have felt like we've been held hostage.   What the city was trying to do amounted to legalized stealing."

Rene Corie and her husband Jerry have lived for a decade in a home near the Intra Coastal Waterway, in Riviera Beach, for which they paid $70,000.  It was first earmarked for acquisition under eminent domain in 2002, and they have been fighting ever since to keep their home.

"Eminent domain abuse is still too common around the country - in fact, it remains a national disgrace," said PLF Attorney Steven Gieseler, part of the plaintiffs' legal team.  "But things are different in Florida, and this victory in Riviera Beach is a national success story for constitutional liberties and homeowners' rights.   If the city wants to change the development patterns in any part of town, it must do so without trampling on the rights of homeowners and other property owners.   Florida state law commands this, and so does a basic respect for freedom and human rights."

"The end of this case marks the end of a very ugly chapter in Riviera Beach history, when City leaders chose to place tax revenues above the rights of their citizens," said Carol Saviak, executive director of the Coalition for Property Rights, which served as co-plaintiff in the case. "I am hopeful Riviera's new elected leadership has learned from the mistakes of their predecessors and now recognizes the best publicprivate redevelopment partnerships are those where cities seek the voluntary cooperation of individual land owners."

About Pacific Legal Foundation's Atlantic Center

Pacific Legal Foundation is the nation's oldest and largest nonprofit, public interest legal organization dedicated to defending private property rights.   PLF's Atlantic Center is headquartered in Stuart, Florida.  More information can be found at www.pacificlegal.org.

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Pacific Legal Foundation Atlantic Center: 1320 South Dixie Highway, Suite 105, Coral Gables, FL 33146 

(305) 667-1677 Fax: (305) 667-7773

E-mail: plf@pacificlegal.org  •  www.pacificlegal.org