By: Kevin Kerrigan
Michael H. Payne spoke with WQCS about the lawsuit filed against the Florida East Coast Railway Company (FEC), the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for condoning and obstructing a federally regulated waterway.
The planned expansion of Brightline’s rail route to Orlando would heavily impact a main waterway used by the 13 plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Currently, a drawbridge on the St. Lucie River is defaulted in the open position, allowing vessels to pass freely, and closes only 12 to 14 times a day in normally off hours to allow freight trains to pass. With Brightline’s plans, the drawbridge would remain closed and only open for 15 minutes every hour, not allowing ample time for larger vessels to pass through. This would heavily impact businesses and safety in the region.
Michael, partner and chair of the firm’s Government Contracting Group, commented “The main harm is loss of business by owners of vessels who won’t want to go to facilities that are impacted by this bridge closure and will seek to take their business elsewhere.”
The plaintiffs are represented by Michael and Ryan Boonstra in conjunction with our local counsel, Mansfield, Bronstein & Stone, LLP.
Listen to Michael’s interview regarding the lawsuit below.
A lawsuit has been filed in Federal Court in Miami seeking to bar Brightline from running any trains over the St. Lucie River drawbridge until a formal hearing on the operating times of that bridge has been held.
The lawsuit names the Florida East Coast Railway which owns the railroad bridge, the Army Corps which is responsible for maintaining navigable waterways, and the U.S. Coast Guard which sets the opening and closing times for the drawbridge.