Henry Couple Wins $134K in Eminent Domain Case
The ongoing and contentious legal battle between Mark and Regina Meeks and the city of Stockbridge could at last be over.
The city paid the owners of Stockbridge Florist and Gifts more than $134,000 last week as part of a court order following the couple’s successful eminent domain fight against the city.
The sum covered the legal fees the Meeks incurred as well as interest.
The state Court of Appeals refused in late November to hear the city’s appeal of a lower court ruling that said the couple was entitled to more than $130,000 for legal fees from a fight that first began in 2005.
“We’re surprised,” Mark Meeks said Wednesday. “We’re glad they chose not to go to the [state] Supreme Court. Maybe this is a beginning to the end to this whole issue.”
Henry County Superior Court Judge Arch McGarity had initially ruled in spring 2006 that the city had gone too far in its application of eminent domain laws because it hadn’t proven the Meeks’ property would be used for public purposes.
The state appeals court later upheld that ruling and McGarity’s subsequent decision on Oct. 9 that said Stockbridge owed the Meeks $130,000 of the $275,000 in legal fees they had incurred since the city first tried to acquire their property.
Stockbridge had hoped to build a new city hall on part of the land. The building now is being constructed slightly farther north than originally planed.
City Manager Ted Strickland said city officials were just glad to put the entire matter behind them.
“We’re glad to be through with it,” he said. “We’re just going to go ahead, build our city hall, put it behind us and move on.”
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/henry/stories/2008/01/02/Meeks_0103_web.html
By JOHN HOLLIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/02/08