Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s office will once again appeal a judge’s ruling barring the state from purchasing a piece of land near the governor’s mansion. The state is trying to buy a lawyer’s office as part of a historical plantation renovation next door.
Circuit Judge John Cooper’s Tuesday ruling is the latest in the long-running legal battle between the state and lawyer Steven Andrews. The argument is over who can rightfully buy the lot where Andrews’s law office sits.
In 2011, Andrews entered into a contract to buy the building he’s been renting for the last 20 years. The building sits next to a historic plantation house called the Grove, which the state is planning to turn into a museum. But the judge ruled the state missed a six-month deadline to buy the property once Andrews had expressed his intention.
Andrews has said Scott is spitefully trying to buy the property because Andrews was a vocal critic during the gubernatorial campaign in 2010. Scott has said no personal vendetta factors into the attempted purchase.
