U.S. Supreme Court Denies Property Owners’ Appeal

The Hillsborough County Clerk of Court and the City of Tampa recently celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to review a Florida appeals court ruling stating that interest earned on eminent domain funds held by the county clerk is not payable to former property owners.

Originally filed in 2011, a group of property owners brought a class action law suit against the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court, Pat Frank, and the City of Tampa, contending that they were owed interest earned on eminent domain funds that were deposited into an interest bearing account. The court determined that the property owners have no ownership of the interest earned on deposit funds.

de la Parte & Gilbert attorney, David Caldevilla, represents Pat Frank. “We have always firmly believed that the clerk’s office properly complied with the applicable law governing court registry deposits and properly disbursed the interest earned on those deposits,” Caldevilla said. “The property owners were improperly attempting to recover double payment, and the courts have now recognized that they had no legitimate claim against the clerk.”

David is a shareholder with de la Parte & Gilbert and is board certified by The Florida Bar in Appellate Practice. He can be reached at dcaldevilla@dgfirm.com.