February 11, 2010 Update

Our attorney filed a motion for rehearing with Judge Jones after the Judge issued his opinion in our case in December. The judge has been asked to reconsider his decision (he agreed with 8 of the 11 legal arguments made on behalf of the leaseholders); to clarify the interest rate on contested taxes; and to rule regarding the issuance of tax certificates on governmental leaseholds.

This hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 1, 2010 at 1:30 pm in the court room of Judge Michael Jones at the M.C. Blanchard Judicial Center at 190 Governmental Center. The Judicial Center is located between Baylen, Government, Spring and Zaragoza Streets in Pensacola. The hearing is expected to take no more than an hour.

We have requested this hearing be scheduled in a courtroom so that there is plenty of room for interested parties to attend. Only our attorney will be able to speak on our behalf, but he represents over 3,400 individuals affected by this decision. A good turn out for the hearing might at least send a strong message of our disappointment with the Court’s action.

Look on the board in the lobby for the location of the courtroom for Judge Jones. Court rooms are not assigned until the day before.

A copy of the motion for rehearing and the judge’s ruling are available on the home page of this web site.

Please direct any questions to the liaison committee at beachtaxes@gmail.com