Mahon, Gary M. vs. Florida Department of Agriculture
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An Orange County jury awarded citrus farmer Gary Mahon a $1,250,000 verdict on Wednesday to compensate him for the thousands of citrus plants the Florida Department of Agriculture forced him to destroy in 2008.
In 2008, Florida required citrus plant growers to sell or destroy plants not grown in greenhouses to protect the state’s citrus industry from an ongoing outbreak of Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening, a bacterial disease that has devastated millions of acres of citrus worldwide. To bring Mr. Mahon’s 107.5-acre citrus nursery into compliance with this new law, the Florida Department of Agriculture forced him to destroy 160,284 plants. While this law was well-intentioned, it mandated the destruction of tens of thousands of healthy plants without providing compensation for citrus growers like Mr. Mahon. Represented by Morgan & Morgan, Mr. Mahon sought compensation for the loss of his healthy plants, which was financially devastating to his business and his family.
“We are pleased that the jury recognized the value of what Mr. Mahon lost,” said Morgan & Morgan attorney Alexander Clem. “This case is about our constitution. When governments take private property, our state and federal constitutions require them to provide just and full compensation for that property. While the Florida Legislature and Department of Agriculture meant well by passing and enforcing this law, it had a catastrophic impact on citrus nursery growers. Our client fought for years to get justice for the thousands-upon-thousands of plants he was forced to destroy, and we are thrilled he will be compensated and can move on with his life.”
Attorneys for Mr. Mahon also alleged that the Department of Agriculture’s uneven enforcement and inconsistent communication about the law caused significant issues for Mr. Mahon’s nursery. Specifically, Mr. Mahon alleged that the Department was making exceptions for some growers by allowing them to pot citrus plants that showed no signs of greening and move them into greenhouses. Mr. Mahon acted to save his plants in this manner as soon as he learned about the “word of mouth” permission provided by the Department of Agriculture. However, despite obtaining the Departments permission to build greenhouses to enclose his citrus nursery plants, the Department ultimately issued a “Stop Sale Order” and told him he was too late and forced him to destroy his entire inventory of plants.
This case has been in litigation for more than a decade. Alexander Clem of Morgan & Morgan represented Mr. Mahon. In late 2017, after spending a year in trial (on an intermittent basis), Judge Keith F. White ruled in favor of Mr. Mahon and found that the Department of Agriculture’s forcing Mr. Mahon to destroy his citrus plants amounted to a “regulatory taking” of his private property. The trial that concluded last Wednesday determined the amount of compensation to which Mr. Mahon is entitled.
This is only the second ruling of this nature. It comes on the heels of a similar result in October 2021 in which Mr. Clem won a $982,580 verdict for a family citrus nursery in nearby Lake County that destroyed 7,700 trees to comply with the same law. These are the first cases in which plaintiffs have prevailed in the regulatory phase of trial, proving the inverse condemnation, and then gone on to prove that the healthy plants that were destroyed had monetary value.
Judge Denise Kimberly Beamer oversaw the proceedings to determine Mr. Mahon’s compensation. The case number is 08-CA-30736-33.
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