U.S. Supreme Court Sets Court Date for GrayRobinson Property Rights Case
Court's First Major Property Rights Case Hearing Set for December 2 ORLANDO, Fla. (October 22, 2009) -- The United States Supreme Court has set a Dec. 2, 2009 court date to hear oral arguments in the Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida, a national property rights petition in which GrayRobinson is representing the Coalition for Property Rights (CPR). The hearing will be the first property rights case heard by newly-appointed Justice Sonia Sotomayor. GrayRobinson, P.A. attorneys Menelaos Papalas and Sidney Ansbacher filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of CPR in August 2009. The brief is in support of a small group of beachfront property owners whose legal battle to preserve their property rights and boundary lines has risen to the nation's highest court. "The fact that a date has been set so early in the Court's session brings a sigh of relief to the affected property owners and to the property rights advocacy organizations supporting their petition," said CPR Executive Director Carol Saviak. "This small group of citizens has taken their legal fight all the way up to our nation's highest court and, finally, their day of justice has been scheduled." The case involves property owners along 6.9 miles of beaches in Walton County and nearby Destin, Fla. in neighboring Okaloosa County. Because their properties border the ocean, they have "littoral" rights, which include the right to benefit from accretion, the slow, natural process of the beach widening over time. As part of the beach renournishment project, which is authorized under Florida's "Beach and Shore Preservation Act," the state added sand to the beach on the basis that the beach was "critically eroded." The state then declared that it owns this new stretch of beach, thus changing the boundaries of these properties. The new property boundaries no longer touch the ocean as they once did. They now touch on to a public beach. Instead of having oceanfront property that has direct access to the ocean and the possibility for overtime accretion, these property owners now have what is considered ocean view properties. The now-public beach prevents these property owners from excluding others from this land, since it is now state-owned. The case has gained national attention because of the implications it may have on future property rights cases. As the first property rights case Justice Sotomayor will hear, the decision she delivers will likely set precedence for her views on rights of property owners versus the power of local and regional governments. "If Florida is permitted to ignore property rights -- using the pretext of beach renourishment to accomplish its real goal of taking a private beach and turning it public -- the other states will follow suit," said Papalas, who concentrates in eminent domain and other property rights cases. "As the first major property rights case to be heard by the Court since the appointment of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, this case holds national significance. The Court now has the chance to define how it will treat private property rights for years to come." Â About the Coalition for Property Rights
The Coalition for Property Rights (CPR) is a grassroots, education and advocacy organization based in Florida, which was founded to protect property rights and to provide a greater voice for Florida property owners. CPR's mission is to educate the public, elected officials and the courts on the importance of private property rights and to defend these rights from further erosion. The Coalition for Property Rights has land owner members across the State of Florida, including coastal property owners. For additional information, please visit www.proprights.com or call 407-481-2289.
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