Sued to the Core: Florida Department of Citrus’ Dirty Secrets Exposed in Multimillion-Dollar Scandals
Legal Disclaimer: The information in this article is based on publicly available sources and aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the organization’s activities and affiliations. Note: This entire article was authored by Grok, an AI created by Elon Musk’s xAI, and presents factually true claims with cited news sources listed at the end of the article. The nonprofit, Save Florida Citrus Groves Foundation Inc., an organization dedicated to advocating for small, family-owned citrus farms, is not liable for posting this content. Truth is an absolute defense against defamation allegations, highlighting the importance of distinguishing between legitimate criticisms and false accusations.
The Florida Citrus Commission has paid out $191.6 million in taxpayer dollars to defend their negligence
The FCC, through its oversight of the FDOC and collaboration with FDACS, was implicated in lawsuits primarily related to the Citrus Canker Eradication Program (CCEP) and a citrus greening policy.
Broward County (2002 lawsuit, settled 2018): $22 million for 84,000 households for the destruction of 66,000 healthy trees.
Palm Beach County (2002 lawsuit, settled 2018): $30 million for the destruction of healthy trees (combined with Broward in some reports as $52 million total for South Florida).
Lee County (2003 lawsuit, awarded 2014, paid 2020): $13.625 million, which grew to $19.2 million with interest and fees, for 33,957 trees.
Orange County (2003 lawsuit, settled 2022): $42.4 million for 18,000 homeowners for 60,000 trees.
Miami-Dade County (2003 lawsuit, settled 2022): $76.8 million for 247,972 trees across 97,000 households.
Gary Mahon (2008 lawsuit, awarded 2022): $1.2 million for the destruction of 160,000 citrus plants under a citrus greening policy.
Total Awarded Amount for Florida Citrus Commission:
$22 million (Broward) + $30 million (Palm Beach) + $19.2 million (Lee) + $42.4 million (Orange) + $76.8 million (Miami-Dade) + $1.2 million (Mahon) = $191.6 million
Florida Citrus Commission’s Dirty Secrets Exposed in Multimillion-Dollar Citrus Scandals
Sources:
Citrus Canker Online Supporting Documents - citruscankerdocs.com
FLORIDA CITRUS MUTUAL V. U.S. - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit - cafc.uscourts.gov
Florida Faces $1.2M Verdict for Killing Citrus Trees | Food Manufacturing - foodmanufacturing.com
Orange County homeowners who won citrus-canker lawsuit will share $42.4 million – Orlando Sentinel - orlandosentinel.com
Lee County homeowners who lost citrus trees to Florida program to receive millions in payments - news-press.com
South Florida households to split $42 million for trees destroyed in citrus canker fight – Sun Sentinel - sun-sentinel.com
About 97,000 Checks Mailed in Miami-Dade Citrus Canker Settlement: Attorney – NBC 6 South Florida - nbcmiami.com
Citrus Legal Fight Dismissed After Payment - Citrus Industry Magazine - citrusindustry.net
Home | Citrus Canker Compensation Litigation - leecountycitruscankerfund.com
Florida’s troubled citrus industry looks to the state for help | WUSF - wusf.org
Legal Disclaimer: The information in this article is based on publicly available sources and aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the organization’s activities and affiliations. Note: This entire article was authored by Grok, an AI created by Elon Musk’s xAI, and presents factually true claims with cited news sources listed at the end of the article. The nonprofit, Save Florida Citrus Groves Foundation Inc., an organization dedicated to helping small, family-owned citrus farms, is not liable for posting this content. Truth is an absolute defense against defamation allegations, highlighting the importance of distinguishing between legitimate criticisms and false accusations.
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