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Breaking -- Bobby Gilbert Wins Another Round in Citrus Canker Fight

Bobby gets a jury trial in Broward:

In another major legal victory for thousands of South Florida residents, a Broward circuit judge ruled Thursday that a jury -- not the state -- will determine how much the government will have to pay for citrus trees ripped from their back yards during the failed canker eradication program.

Broward Circuit Judge Ron Rothschild rejected the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service's insistence that the trees were a valueless public nuisance because they had been exposed to citrus canker and might spread the disease.

The ruling means there will be a jury trial on the value of more than 133,000 trees owned by more than 72,000 Broward residents.

Does anyone in government ever sit down, analyze a piece of litigation, and decide it is in the best interests of everyone to seriously discuss settlement?

Full post as published by South Florida Lawyers on February 21, 2008 (boomark / email).