Opinion
No. 1D20-2036
05-18-2021
Delaney REYNOLDS, et al., Appellants, v. The STATE of Florida ; Ron Desantis, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Florida ; Public Service Commission; Department of Environmental Protection; Noah Valenstein, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Florida Department of Protection; The Board of Trustees of The Internal Improvement Trust Fund; Nikki Fried, in her official capacity as Commission of Agriculture ; and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Appellees.
Guy M. Burns of Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns, LLP, Tampa; Fred Wallace Pope of Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns, LLP, Clearwater; Erin L. Deady of Erin L. Deady, P.A., Delray Beach; Mitchell A. Chester of the Law Office of Mitchell A. Chester, P.A., Plantation; Debra Swim of Debra Swim, PLLC, Tallahassee; Jane M. West of Jane West Law, P.L., St. Augustine; Matthew D. Schultz of Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty & Proctor, P.A., Pensacola; and Andrea K. Rodgers of Our Children's Trust, Seattle, WA, pro hac vice, for Appellants. Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Amit Agarwal, Solicitor General, James H. Percival, Chief Deputy Solicitor General, Kevin A. Golembiewski, Deputy Solicitor General, and Karen A. Brodeen, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellees State of Florida, Ron DeSantis, in his official capacity as Governor, and the Public Service Commission. Joe Jacquot, General Counsel, John MacIver, James W. Uthmeier, and Nicholas A. Primrose, Deputy General Counsel, Executive Office of the Governor, Tallahassee, for Appellee Governor Ron DeSantis. Justin G. Wolfe, General Counsel, Jeffrey Brown, Assistant General Counsel, and Kelley Corbari, Assistant General Counsel, Tallahassee, for Appellees Department of Environmental Protection; Noah Valenstein, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Florida Department of Protection; The Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. Steven Hall, General Counsel, Magdalena Ozarowski, Deputy General Counsel, and Genevieve Hall, Senior Attorney, for Appellees Nikki Fried, in her official capacity as Commission of Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Guy M. Burns of Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns, LLP, Tampa; Fred Wallace Pope of Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns, LLP, Clearwater; Erin L. Deady of Erin L. Deady, P.A., Delray Beach; Mitchell A. Chester of the Law Office of Mitchell A. Chester, P.A., Plantation; Debra Swim of Debra Swim, PLLC, Tallahassee; Jane M. West of Jane West Law, P.L., St. Augustine; Matthew D. Schultz of Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty & Proctor, P.A., Pensacola; and Andrea K. Rodgers of Our Children's Trust, Seattle, WA, pro hac vice, for Appellants.
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Amit Agarwal, Solicitor General, James H. Percival, Chief Deputy Solicitor General, Kevin A. Golembiewski, Deputy Solicitor General, and Karen A. Brodeen, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellees State of Florida, Ron DeSantis, in his official capacity as Governor, and the Public Service Commission. Joe Jacquot, General Counsel, John MacIver, James W. Uthmeier, and Nicholas A. Primrose, Deputy General Counsel, Executive Office of the Governor, Tallahassee, for Appellee Governor Ron DeSantis. Justin G. Wolfe, General Counsel, Jeffrey Brown, Assistant General Counsel, and Kelley Corbari, Assistant General Counsel, Tallahassee, for Appellees Department of Environmental Protection; Noah Valenstein, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Florida Department of Protection; The Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. Steven Hall, General Counsel, Magdalena Ozarowski, Deputy General Counsel, and Genevieve Hall, Senior Attorney, for Appellees Nikki Fried, in her official capacity as Commission of Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Bilbrey, Kelsey, and M.K. Thomas, JJ., concur.
Per Curiam. AFFIRMED . See Citizens for Strong Schs., Inc. v. Fla. State Bd. of Educ. , 262 So. 3d 127, 143 (Fla. 2019) (affirming judgment rejecting lawsuit as raising nonjusticiable political questions).