Attorneys said they will move this week to recover the court costs — likely as much as $50,000 — Seminole County spent defending itself against a federal lawsuit filed by Chris Dorworth’s River Cross Land Co. that was dismissed by a judge on June 4.
In her ruling that closed the case, U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway said Seminole is entitled to recover costs from River Cross. Those could include expenditures on court reporters, filing fees, charges for serving summons and hiring experts.
“We’ll know for certain how much that will be once we get everything together,” Seminole attorney Bryant Applegate said to county commissioners at a recent meeting. “And we’re going to pursue that very aggressively.”
County attorneys added they may file a motion in federal court to recover attorneys’ fees that could top as much as $500,000.
Seminole hired Nelson Mullins law firm of Orlando to help fight the lawsuit brought on by River Cross Land Co. in October 2018, about two months after Seminole commissioners unanimously rejected Dorworth’s plans to build a large residential and commercial development within the county’s rural boundary.
“We’re going to take a deep dive into the applicable case law to determine whether or not we can get [attorneys] fees,” Applegate said.
Attorney Todd Norman of Nelson Mullins added that federal judicial rules could allow Seminole to file a motion for attorney’s fees, but “there are certain limitations.”
Dorworth did not respond to requests for comment regarding the lawsuit.
Dorworth, a former state legislator and now a developer, first pitched plans for his River Cross development in early 2018 for 669 rural acres just east of the Econlockhatchee River and north of the Orange County line. Plans originally called for 1,370 homes, apartments and townhomes and 1.5 million square feet of commercial and office space on the old pastureland.
But the proposed development quickly drew strong opposition from residents and environmentalists, who said such a project would open the floodgates to more development in the protected area that covers nearly one-third of the county.
In mid-2018, Seminole’s planning and zoning commission and county commission both refused to rezone the property for the River Cross project because it sits within the voter-approved rural boundary that limits development to one home per five acres or one home per 10 acres.
Dorworth and his attorneys then filed the federal lawsuit arguing that the county’s rural boundary violates the Fair Housing Act because it makes it more difficult for racial minorities to obtain housing.
“Although Seminole County touts the rural boundary as a means to maintain the rural character, lifestyle and agricultural potential of the rural areas of Seminole County, the boundary line has a segregative effect and disparate impact on protected minority classes in Seminole County,” according to the lawsuit.
But Conway shot down those arguments in her ruling saying that there was no evidence presented that minorities would live in the River Cross development. And River Cross could not establish “that the removal of the Property from the Rural Area would increase the minority population in the area.”
At a June 8 county meeting, Seminole commissioners praised Conway’s ruling.
“This commission – as it’s constituted today – has been steadfast on fighting against this project and other related deals that could’ve come up [in the rural boundary],” commission Chairman Lee Constantine said. “I’ve never seen a [court] summary judgement that was so strong in my life.”
Commissioner Jay Zembower also called the ruling a “great day for Seminole County.”
Dorworth has also filed a lawsuit in state court arguing that Seminole’s rural boundary is “vague” and “arbitrary” because the county can refuse to hear or reject a development application or request to move a property out of the boundary without any specific guidelines on the requirements or “what is necessary” for approval.
A hearing is scheduled for July 7 in Seminole County before Circuit Judge Randall Rowe to discuss a motion by the county to dismiss that state lawsuit.
mcomas@orlandosentinel.com
