Ponce Inlet, FL - 12 years and $5.4 million later, a long fought legal battle that came close to bankrupting a small town finally comes to an end.
Some residents of Ponce Inlet may be very well familiar with the name Pacetta, a company that was looking to develop over 15 acres of land along the Halifax River for various projects.
One of those projects included a 60,000 square foot "dry stack" boat storage facility.
But, before construction began, arguments arose between Pacetta and the town of Ponce Inlet, leading the town and the company to go to court.
The legal battle began when Lyder & Simone Johnson, owners of Pacetta LLC, claimed that the town encouraged the company to invest millions into the land before they blocked development of the property over concerns from residents.
Another argument was that Ponce Inlet changed the ordinance just to block the development of the project, which Cliff Shepard, the town attorney, says is false.
"No ordinance was changed ever to prohibit the development," said Shepard. "The town's ordinance always prohibited the development."
Since then, Shepard says both the town and Pacetta sat through multiple proceedings in court over the span of 12 years to get where they are now.
"It consisted of 16 different proceedings," said Shepard. "That includes administrative proceedings and trials, trials and appeals in state court, a federal case, and an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court."
Shepard also said that through all challenges, except one, Ponce Inlet prevailed. He even went on to say that there's still a federal case and a state appeal that's still pending.
Then, about a month ago, Shepard said he had received a phone call from the opposing counsel, Pete Heebner, suggesting that his clients, Pacetta, might be ready to resolve the case.
He then decided to email Heebner, saying that if they were serious there were things that he would have to see in writing in order to come to an agreement.
The results of that conversation led to the creation of the settlement.
According to Shepard, one of the conditions was that the settlement had to be fully signed off on by the plaintiffs so that if the meeting went in the way of approving the agreement the case could come to a close.
"It's not tomorrow, it's not the next day. If we sign it tonight the case is over," said Shepard.
The attorney then presented to the town council what the settlement outlined.
The settlement will settle & release all claims, release specific individuals and release Pacetta, with no admission of fault by any party. Each party will bear its own legal costs, and it will end any pending litigation against the town, including current appeals.
The town will also waive its right to seek legal fee reimbursement, and the settlement will not preclude future applications for development by Pacetta or others.
In total, throughout 12 years of litigation, Ponce Inlet spent $5.4 million on legal fees, and if they were to pursue getting the fees back it could cost the town another $750,000.
Following a brief section of public comments, where one resident said they were "over the cancer," the town council offered their own opinions on the settlement, all of which balanced towards signing it and closing the case.
"The time is now," said Mary Hoss, Vice Mayor of Ponce Inlet.
Town council member Lois Paritsky said that this has been one of the longest and most expensive cases in town history, and it was time to bring it to a close.
After the council members finished their comments, Ponce Inlet Mayor Gary Smith allowed Paritsky to motion the signing of the settlement, which was seconded by Hoss.
The council then voted unanimously to bring 12 years of legal proceedings to a close, leading Mayor Smith to sign the settlement.
