BONIFAY — A Washington County jury has awarded $53,000 to 2M Land Development, LLC for 14 acres of property acquired by Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The unanimous verdict was reached by 12 jurors, concluding the five-day eminent domain trial before Judge Christopher Patterson.
According to court documents, the development company was originally seeking a compensation amount of $1.5 million for the property, which is divided among four parcels located near Douglas Ferry Rd., extending to the Holmes County line.
FDOT acquired the land in 2012 as part of the project to widen of State Road 79. Owned by partners Mike Howell and Mike Alvis of Holmes County, 2M Land Development’s property is the last to be settled - and the first to be involved in a Washington County eminent domain trial in about a decade.
Jurors visited the subject property Thursday and delivered their verdict Friday.