Jury smacks MDOT with $6.2 million verdict

A Circuit Court jury in Harrison County recently delivered a $6.2 million verdict against the Mississippi State Department of Transportation’s governing commission, finding the damages are owed to development company Ward Properties Gulfport LP.

The jury said MDOT owes Ward Properties the money for taking 1,300 acres along the city’s commercial corridor in connection with a state port connector road that is now in limbo. The amount represents lost development opportunity for the property that sits south of Interstate 10 and west of U.S. 49.

A federal environmental permit issued to MDOT tied up the land from 2009 through 2012.

MDOT has not decided whether to appeal the decision, but is weighing its options, said the agency’s attorney, Christopher Howdeshell of Hattiesburg.

Attorneys for Ward Properties also are seeking $378,329 in attorney’s fees from MDOT. Judge Larry Bourgeois, who presided over the case, will enter a final judgment only after he decides whether MDOT should pay those fees.

The Ward family of Louisiana has been trying for years to develop the land, but has met with resistance from the community. Most of the property is wetlands. MDOT argued the property had no value for development, but the Wards currently propose development of 524 acres for mixed use. The project is undergoing extensive environmental review and includes features meant to alleviate flooding.

After consulting with federal agencies, MDOT had agreed to conserve 1,600 acres, including the Ward’s property, in exchange for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit to fill 162 acres in the Turkey Creek watershed for a port connector road. The Corps issued the permit in exchange for the proposed conservation easement.

A federal judge revoked the permit in 2012, ruling the Corps acted "arbitrarily and capriciously," without an environmental review, in issuing the permit for road construction.

While MDOT acquired rights of way for the connector road, it has never been developed.

This story was originally published June 22, 2016 at 9:10 AM with the headline "Jury smacks MDOT with $6.2 million verdict."