JAMES E. STEWART, APPELLANT,
v.
CITY OF KEY WEST, FLORIDA, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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The court held that the Florida Constitution's full compensation clause requires pre-judgment interest from the date of taking in inverse condemnation actions.
[1] The full compensation clause of the Florida Constitution requires that all facts and circumstances bearing a reasonable relationship to the loss occasioned an owner by vi…
[2] The constitutional requirement for full compensation in direct condemnation actions is equally applicable to inverse condemnation proceedings.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe trial court denied pre-judgment interest in an inverse condemnation action, finding no statutory authority. The plaintiff argued that the constitu…
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JORGENSON, Judge.
In an inverse condemnation action the trial court established the effective date of the taking by the City of Key West, Florida, and in an amended final judgment provided for compensation and distribution of the award to James E. Stewart and several other plaintiffs. The single issue in this-appeal is the propriety of the trial court’s refusal to award pre-judgment interest to Stewart from the date of the taking. For the reasons which follow we reverse and remand with directions to award Stewart pre-judgment interest from the date of the taking.
In paragraph 5 of the amended final judgment the trial court held that “[i]n the absence of any statutory authority providing for an award ... of pre-judgment interest from the date of taking, the [cjourt is unable to award pre-judgment interest to [Stewart].” Stewart argues, and we agree, that the full compensation clause of the Florida Constitution, art. X, § 6(a), Fla. Const., requires the court to take into account all the facts and circumstances bearing a reasonable relationship to the loss occasioned an owner by virtue of his property being taken by the state. See Jacksonville Expressway Authority v. Henry G. Du Pree Co., 108 So. 2d 289 (Fla.1958).
The full compensation required by the constitution in a direct condemnation action is equally required in inverse condemnation proceedings, Flatt v. City of Brooksville, 368 So. 2d 631 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979), and this constitutional requirement needs no enabling legislation to be effective, id.; see Jacksonville Expressway Authority. It is undisputed that Stewart did not have the benefit of his land from the date of the taking, nor did he have any compensation until final judgment was entered. In order for Stewart to be made whole, pre-judgment interest from the date of the taking must be allowed. See art. X, § 6(a), Fla.Const.; see also State Road Department v. Bender, 147 Fla. 15, 2 So. 2d 298 (1941) (pre-judgment interest awarded from date of taking in inverse condemnation action).
Reversed and remanded with directions.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Cnty. OF Volusia v. W.R. Pickens & Cont'l Ins. Co., 439 So. 2d 276 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983)…Clarke, 445 U.S. 253, 100 S.Ct. 1127, 63 L.Ed.2d 373 (1980). . Yoder v. Sarasota County, 81 So. 2d 219 (Fla. 1955). . City of Miami v. Coconut Grove Marine Properties, Inc., 358 So. 2d 1151, 1154 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978). . Stewart v. City of Key West, 429 So. 2d 784 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); see Brooks-Scanlon Corp. v. United States, 265 U.S. 106, 44 S.Ct. 471, 68 L.Ed. 934 (1924); Behm v. Division of Admin., Dep’t. of Transp., 383 So. 2d 216 (Fla.1980); § 74.061, Fla.Stat. (1981).…
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Patchen v. Fla. Dep't of Agric. & Consumer Servs., 906 So. 2d 1005 (Fla. 2005)…also State Road Dept. v. Tharp, 146 Fla. 745, 1 So. 2d 868, 869-70 (1941). “The full compensation required by the Constitution in a direct condemnation action is equally required in inverse condemnation proceedings. ...” Stewart v. City of Key West, 429 So. 2d 784, 785 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983). Damages in an inverse condemnation action are assessed based on the value of the property on the date of the taking. See County of Volusia v. Pickens, 439 So. 2d 276, 277 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983). The district court’s determinat…
Authorities Cited
- Jacksonville Expressway Auth. v. Henry G. DU Pree Co., 108 So. 2d 289 (Fla. 1958)
- State Rd. Dep't of the State of Fla. v. Bender, 147 Fla. 15 (Fla. 1941)
- Flatt v. City OF Brooksville, 368 So. 2d 631 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979)