Osceola County Prevails in Lawsuit Vs. Friends of Split Oak, et al

Published on January 04, 2019

PR19-02

Osceola County, Florida – Osceola County prevailed in a lawsuit filed by a local environmental group and other plaintiffs in Circuit Court this week.

The Judge’s dismissal means there was no evidence that Osceola County violated laws pertaining to public meetings and public records. The victory came without the County having to go to trial, depose witnesses, or take other legal steps. The ruling means that the standards to go forward with the case as filed were not met by those suing the County.

Unfortunately, the Osceola News-Gazette will publish an article that will appear in the Saturday edition, which incorrectly states that the case will move forward. Osceola County officials are concerned that the depiction of what happened was a gross mischaracterization of facts of the case and that the readers will misunderstand the outcome.

The County’s legal counsel successfully argued this week that the Board of County Commissioner’s discussion did not violate state law – and the Judge’s ruling affirmed this.

Osceola County goes above and beyond to comply with state law and foster transparency with its citizens, and will continue to vigorously defend itself against false and malicious legal claims.