Dear Friends,
Oops, we admit a mistake was made.
One thing Martin County doesn’t need is more misinformation floating around the internet. An important goal of One Martin is to provide accurate information to the public to create a more informed citizenry. As president, it is vital that anything with my name on it is factual.
Well, I'm sorry to say, I slipped up with One Martin's most recent communication: “We're dealing with a case of misplaced anger.” One statement was inaccurate, and so I want to correct it immediately.
I misspoke when I said that the court had found Martin County had breached its contract with Lake Point. That was just plain wrong. That portion of the lawsuit was not heard in court.
The part that went to trial and was decided in court was Lake Point's allegations that former commissioner Maggy Hurchalla's actions had interfered with its contracts. A jury of Martin County citizens ruled unequivocally that she had done just that, finding her liable for damages to the tune of $4.3 million.
The county contended in court that a contract with Lake Point didn’t exist, thus it could not have been breached. The point was settled by Circuit Court Judge Shields McManus, who ruled early in the case that Lake Point was, at the very least, a third-party beneficiary of the county's contract with the South Florida Water Management District. He said the county's interlocal agreement was “inextricably intertwined” with SFWMD's contract with Lake Point.
He ordered that the two agreements be “read” as one contract with Lake Point.
It was a pivotal point in the litigation, because it clarified Lake Point's right to claim damages for the county's attempt to cancel its contract with SFWMD.
We told you months ago this was a complicated case with a lot of moving parts. Dissecting it into smaller portions to make it easier to digest has been our objective; however, we earnestly hope that this mistake on our part did not add to the confusion.
Sincerely,
Rick Hartman
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