ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The city of Groveland will have to wait another two months to find out if it'll have to pay millions to the water bottling company it fought to keep out. If Groveland were forced to pay $4 million in tax dollars for Niagara's attorney fees, that's about $500 per resident for each man, woman and child in a town of around 8,000.
Lawyers for Niagara and the city spent more than six hours Tuesday fighting over that money. For the Niagara Bottling Company, the time to bury the hatchet with the city of Groveland has long passed.
"Groveland has approached Niagara not with an olive branch as they've said, but with a baseball bat," said Honey Rand, Niagara Bottling Company.
So, the company is swinging back. It's demanding $2 million to $4 million, which is the cost to pay its lawyers during the course of the 2-year legal battle with the city.
"How are you doing, Mayor? Good morning. Can you stop and talk?" WFTV reporter Berndt Petersen asked Groveland Mayor Richard Smith.
"No. We can't this morning," Mayor Smith replied.
Mayor Smith led the charge to prevent Niagara from getting a permit to pull 500,000 gallons of water each day from the aquifer at its Lake County plant and sell it for profit, but Groveland lost the case.
Niagara is now drilling the wells and, because the company insists Groveland's lawsuit was frivolous, the company believes it has a legal claim to demand a refund for its attorneys' fees. If it happens, the $4 million cost would be equal to one-sixth of the city's $24 million annual budget and taxpayers could be stuck with the bill.
"How are they going to feel when they drive by the plant or see your trucks drive by?" Petersen asked Rand.
"Well, isn't the question, 'How are they gonna fell about their elected officials for spending millions of dollars on a case they knew they couldn't win?'" Rand replied.
Two weeks ago, Niagara dropped its suit to force Lake County to pay legal fees, but Groveland does not get the same courtesy. City officials won't say whether a loss will trigger a tax hike to pay the legal bills.
Previous Stories: April 9, 2009: Groveland Water Bottling War At Boiling Point April 8, 2009: Water Bottling Legal Battle Goes Before Judge April 4, 2009: Rally Held To Fight Water Bottling Plant in Lake County
WFTV
