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City of Ocala v. Nye

Supreme Court of Florida
608 So. 2d 15 (1992)
ELI5:

Rule of Law:

Under Florida's constitutional home rule authority, a municipality may exercise its eminent domain power to acquire an entire tract of land, even when only a portion is needed for a public project, if doing so serves the valid municipal purpose of reducing overall acquisition costs by avoiding business damages.


Facts:

  • The City of Ocala sought to acquire property to widen a city street.
  • The project required only a partial taking of a tract of land where O.J. and Carolyn Nye operated a business.
  • A partial taking under Florida law would have required the City to pay the Nyes substantial business damages.
  • The City determined that acquiring the entire tract of land would be less expensive than acquiring a portion and paying the associated business damages.
  • To avoid the business damage claim and reduce overall costs, the City amended its condemnation action to seek a total taking of the property.

Procedural Posture:

  • The City of Ocala filed an eminent domain petition in a Florida trial court to take a portion of the subject property.
  • The Nyes, as tenants, filed an answer asserting a claim for business damages.
  • The City of Ocala amended its petition to seek a total taking of the property.
  • The trial court entered a judgment allowing the City to take the entire tract of land.
  • The Nyes, as appellants, appealed to the Fifth District Court of Appeal.
  • The Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's judgment, holding the City lacked the power for such a taking.
  • The City of Ocala, as petitioner, sought review from the Supreme Court of Florida.

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Issue:

Does a municipality have the power under Florida's constitutional home rule authority to condemn an entire tract of land, when only a portion is needed for a public project, for the sole purpose of avoiding business damages and thus reducing the total cost of acquisition?


Opinions:

Majority - Per Curiam

Yes. A municipality may exercise its eminent domain power to acquire an entire tract of land to reduce acquisition costs. The court reasoned that Article VIII, section 2(b) of the Florida Constitution and the Municipal Home Rule Powers Act grant municipalities the authority to exercise any power for a valid municipal purpose, except when expressly prohibited by law. Relying on Department of Transp. v. Fortune Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n, the court held that reducing acquisition costs to save taxpayer money is a valid public and municipal purpose. While counties and state agencies require a specific statutory grant to exercise this power, municipalities possess it inherently through their broad home rule authority unless a law expressly forbids it, and no such prohibition exists.



Analysis:

This decision significantly clarifies and strengthens municipal home rule powers in Florida regarding eminent domain. It establishes that economic efficiency—saving public funds—is a legitimate 'municipal purpose' that can justify a total property taking, even when physical necessity applies only to a portion. This precedent grants municipalities considerable strategic leverage in condemnation proceedings, allowing them to use the possibility of a total taking to negotiate lower settlements or avoid expensive statutory business damage claims, thereby impacting the calculus of just compensation for property owners.

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