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Weeki Wachee Springs, Swiftmud head to court |
By Mary Spicuzza | Published 2/21/05 The St. Petersburg Times | Brookesville, FL
Both sides pledged to try to work out their differences.
They agreed to court-ordered mediation to avoid excessive litigation.
Now it appears Weeki Wachee Springs and the Southwest Florida Water Management District instead will argue their cases in court. Negotiations fell apart earlier this month, the two parties said.
"It's at an impasse," Swiftmud spokesman Michael Molligan said. "We're headed back to court."
Weeki Wachee attorney Joe Mason would only say that mediation "did not result in a settlement."
Weeki Wachee and Swiftmud agreed to mediation last fall, after Circuit Judge Richard Tombrink berated them for excessive litigation.
"This has gotten way out of hand," Tombrink said at a Sept. 1 hearing. "You've got more litigation coming out of this than the federal government would. It's crazy."
Noting that the two sides have three pending lawsuits, Tombrink called the court battles a "judge's worst nightmare," a waste of public funds, and said the only beneficiary might be "an attorney who likes to work hard and bill many hours."
Neither Molligan nor Mason would discuss details of what went wrong during mediation meetings, which are confidential.
The current round of court battles between Weeki Wachee and Swiftmud began last March, when Swiftmud board members voted to take Weeki Wachee to court.
They asked a judge to rule on issues relating to the legality of the roadside attraction's ownership by the tiny city of Weeki Wachee. They questioned whether the city broke state law by keeping the private company intact after the company came under city ownership.
Swiftmud also asked the court to determine whether dredging in the Weeki Wachee River last February by park employees - without environmental permits or Swiftmud's permission - was a "material" breach of the park's lease.
At the time, Weeki Wachee raced Swiftmud to court and filed its own lawsuit against the agency, which is the attraction's landlord.
In the fall, Swiftmud went to court asking for an emergency injunction to close the water slides at the park because of safety concerns. Tombrink ruled that the slides should remain open, saying the agency had not presented enough information to justify the injunction.
At that hearing, Tombrink ordered the two sides to try to negotiate a settlement of all their differences.
The disputes between Swiftmud and Weeki Wachee have also gone to the 5th District Court of Appeal, where Mason argued that the Circuit Court lacks jurisdiction in Weeki Wachee's dispute with the tourist attraction's landlord.
In the appeals court, Swiftmud complained that Weeki Wachee had violated line-spacing requirements for its court documents.
Weeki Wachee was directed to pay $500 to Swiftmud's lawyers due to violations of "formatting requirements," but Mason asked for a rehearing.
The rehearing is still under consideration, according to the 5th District Court of Appeal.
Molligan said his agency was disappointed that it could not avoid further litigation with Weeki Wachee.
"We always hope mediation will work out," he said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't do it."
Weeki Wachee and Swiftmud will be in court April 22 for a hearing on a motion to transfer Weeki Wachee's case from county to circuit court.
-- Information from Times files was used in this report. Mary Spicuzza can be reached at 352 848-1432 or mspicuzza@sptimes.com
[Last modified February 21, 2005, 19:30:04] |
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