Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC v. 3.857 Acres of Land in Osceola County Florida et al
Filing
40
ORDER granting 36 Motion to Withdraw funds from the Court; Rejecting Report and Recommendations - re 38 Report and Recommendations. The Clerk is directed to disburse the principal amount deposited into the Registry of the Court in the amount of $1,500,000.00, along with accrued interest, subject to an administrative handling fee, to the Gray Robinson P.A. Trust Account. Signed by Judge Carlos E. Mendoza on 8/4/2016. (DJD)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
ORLANDO DIVISION
SABAL TRAIL TRANSMISSION, LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.
Case No: 6:16-cv-470-Orl-41DAB
3.857 ACRES OF LAND IN OSCEOLA
COUNTY FLORIDA, BAOR, INC. and
UNKNOWN OWNERS, IF ANY,
Defendants.
/
ORDER
THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Defendant BAOR, Inc.’s (“BAOR”) Unopposed
Motion to Withdraw Funds from the Court Registry (Doc. 36). U.S. Magistrate Judge Baker
submitted a Report and Recommendation (the “R&R,” Doc. 38), which recommends that the
motion be denied in accordance with a similar Order entered by U.S. District Judge Dalton in a
related case—Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC v. 2.769 Acres of Land in Osceola County, No. 6:16cv-460-Orl-37DAB (M.D. Fla. June 17, 2016) (Doc. 46). BAOR objected to the R&R. (See Obj.,
Doc. 39).
A district court is required to review de novo the objected-to portions of a magistrate
judge’s recommendation and “may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part” the
recommendation. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(3). Moreover, a district
court may “receive further evidence or recommit the matter to the magistrate judge with
instructions.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1).
Here, the Court agrees with the well-reasoned R&R, which—vicariously, through an Order
in a related case—found BAOR’s motion to be lacking. Rather than filing an amended motion,
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BAOR attempts to augment its initial motion by including within its objection to the R&R
additional, clarifying argument and evidence. In lieu of recommitting the matter to the magistrate
judge for consideration of the new argument and evidence, the Court will address BAOR’s
supplementation.
In doing so, the Court agrees with BAOR that the plain language of Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 71.1(j)(2) contemplates a pre-award distribution. (See Obj at 3–4 (noting that the Rule’s
second and third sentences set forth a procedure for where the post-distribution award varies from
the prior distribution)). Additionally, the Court is satisfied that, in agreeing to deposit the funds
into the Court registry, the parties contemplated a pre-award distribution. (See id. at 4–6;
Dancaescu Aff., Ex. A to Obj., Doc. 39-3, ¶¶ 4–8). Therefore, BAOR’s motion will be granted.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED and ADJUDGED as follows:
1. The Report and Recommendation (Doc. 38) is rejected.
2. Defendant BAOR, Inc.’s Unopposed Motion to Withdraw Funds From the Court
Registry (Doc. 36) is GRANTED.
3. The Clerk is directed to disburse the principal amount deposited into the Registry
of the Court in the amount of $1,500,000.00, along with accrued interest, subject to
an administrative handling fee, to the GrayRobinson P.A. Trust Account. Such
disbursement shall be made by check payable to the GrayRobinson P.A. Trust
Account and mailed to GrayRobinson P.A. Trust Account, c/o Kent L. Hipp, Esq.,
P.O. Box 3068, Orlando, Florida 32802-3068.
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DONE and ORDERED in Orlando, Florida on August 4, 2016.
Copies furnished to:
Counsel of Record
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