Welcome to the Palm Beach County
Citrus Canker Compensation Litigation Website

UPDATED STATUS: On December 7, 2007, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Robyn Rosenberg issued an Order on Liability Claims and Defenses in favor of the Palm Beach County homeowners whose uninfected citrus trees were destroyed under the CCEP. Based on the evidence presented during a two week trial, the Court concluded that the Defendants’ physical destruction, under the CCEP, of the Plaintiffs’ and Class’ exposed citrus trees, which were not determined to be infected with citrus canker but were located within 1900 feet of another citrus tree determined to be infected with citrus canker, constituted a taking under Article X, §6(a) of the Florida Constitution. The Court also ruled that the Plaintiffs’ and the Class’ exposed citrus trees did not present an imminent threat to public health, safety or welfare, or constitute a public nuisance. Therefore, the Court ruled the Defendants are liable to fully and justly compensate Plaintiffs and the Class for the value of the trees destroyed under the CCEP. A trial to determine the amount of full and just compensation owed to Plaintiffs and the Class has been reset for September 15, 2008.

Click Here to download the full Order on Liability Claims and Defenses

This page is dedicated to providing information to members of the Class (as defined below) and other interested persons concerning class action litigation pending in Palm Beach County Circuit Court against the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (the “Department”) resulting from the Department’s destruction of residential citrus trees located in Palm Beach County, Florida, under the Citrus Canker Eradication Program (“CCEP”).  In this case, Plaintiffs allege that the Department’s destruction of residential citrus trees under the CCEP which were not determined to be infected with citrus canker obligates the Department to pay full and just compensation to members of the Class.  Plaintiffs allege that full and just compensation for such trees exceeds the minimum compensation made available under Fla. Stat. § 581.1845 (the “Statute”), which provides that all eligible tree owners are entitled to receive a Shade Florida debit card with a face value of $100 for the first citrus tree destroyed, and $55 for each additional tree destroyed by the Department under the CCEP.  The Department maintains it was lawfully entitled to destroy all citrus trees located within 1900 feet of any citrus tree determined to be infected with citrus canker, that such trees had no marketable value and, therefore, that members of the Class did not suffer a compensable loss.  Furthermore, the Department denies that members of the Class are entitled to recover any additional compensation for the destruction of their trees except as provided under the Statute.

This case was originally commenced in 2002 and has been extensively litigated for over four years.  In 2004, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ motion to certify the case as a class action on behalf of the following Class:

All owners of citrus trees within Palm Beach County, incorporated or otherwise, not used for commercial purposes, which were not determined by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to be infected with citrus canker and which were destroyed under the Citrus Canker Eradication Program from January 1, 2000 to the present.

The Court subsequently granted summary judgment of liability in favor of the Class on the claim for additional compensation under the Statute, but denied summary judgment on the claim for inverse condemnation. 

The Court has set a trial date of October 15, 2007 on liability under the claim for Inverse Condemnation. Damages will be determined during a subsequent trial.

If you are a member of the Class (as defined above), you have certain legal rights which must be exercised in a timely manner.  Further information and important documents about this case and your legal rights, including the Notice of Pending Class Action and Request for Exclusion, can be viewed by accessing the links in the upper left-hand corner of this page.