Miccosukee Tribe v. Department of Environmental Protection

In 1982, the Miccosukee Tribe reached a settlement with the State of Florida concerning what land in Florida constituted "aboriginal land". The tribe relinquished its rights to other land. In 1997, the tribe purchased land in Collier County. It wasn't until 2003 that the tribe filed a "fee-to-trust" application with the Department of the Interior (DOI). Before the DOI could take any action on the application, the Department of Environmental Protection filed a petition in eminent domain, to take the land as part of an Everglades restoration project.

The case sat idle until 2010. The Miccosukee Tribe filed a motion for summary judgment seeking to have the land returned because it was taken in violation of the provisions of the Nonintercourse Act of 1834. The Act was intended to protect Indian tribes by ensuring that matters were settled peacefully and that Indians were treated fairly. However, it did not distinguish between Indian trust lands and Indian fee lands. As part of the Indian General Allotment Act of 1887, Congress provided that once any restraints on alienation on Indian land were removed, state civil and criminal law would apply. Based on this, the courts have determined that "the protections of the Nonintercourse Act do not apply to land which has been rendered freely alienable by Congress, held by private parties, and subsequently acquired by an Indian tribe."

The tribe then petitioned for writ of certiorari to overturn the trial court's order that denied its motion for final summary judgment. On December 30, 2011, the petition was denied in this eminent domain case.

MH New Investments v. Department of Transportation

MH New Investments went to court over an eminent domain dispute. The company owned property leased by L-N-W Pizza. The Department of Transportation needed a portion of the parking lot and acquired it by eminent domain.

L-N-W Pizza (L-N-W) filed a complaint for business damages resulting from the partial eminent domain taking. However, the court dismissed the business damages claim because the restaurant was only leasing the driveway and parking lot, and therefore, only held a license to use it. Because a license will not support a business damages claim under section 73.071 (3)(b), Florida Statutes, the trial court dismissed the claim.

However, in an appeal, it was argued that L-N-W had "an express and enforceable right to use the areas at issue for the term of the lease. This is sufficient to support a claim for business damages in eminent domain." Night Flight, Inc. v. Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Auth. 702 So. 2d 538 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997).