FAR - News & Events - Residents who lost trees get trial dates

FAR - News & Events - Residents who lost trees get trial dates: "MIAMI – Feb. 12, 2007 – Two lawsuits set for trial in the fall could bring money to thousands of homeowners whose citrus trees were ripped from their back yards in the controversial canker eradication program that was shut down in failure last year.

Judges in Broward and Palm Beach counties have set court dates for September and October for the start of two South Florida class-action suits seeking compensation from the state. Similar suits in Miami-Dade, Orange and Lee counties are awaiting a trial date.

Although he won’t yet say how much he plans to ask jurors to award homeowners, attorney Robert Gilbert of Miami said the final amount will be “staggering.”

There are some citrus trees destroyed by the state that were worth $55 because they were seedlings and others worth $5,000, Gilbert said."