A large part of my law practice deals with “takings”—a situation where a government authority with the power to condemn, or a private entity with the power to condemn, has taken private property. Takings falls primarily into one of two large categories:

  • “Direct takings,” which is when a government or private entity, like a utility, files a lawsuit to acquire private property through the court system; and
  • “Inverse” or indirect condemnation, which is when a government or private entity has taken private property without using the court system.

    • In the case, Orlando Bar Group, LLC d/b/a The Basement, The Attic and the Treehouse v. DeSantis, the Fifth District Court of Appeal decided that Governor DeSantis’s executive orders from March 2020 did not amount to a taking of private property. Even though Governor DeSantis’s executive orders:

    • suspended all sales of alcoholic beverages by entities deriving more than fifty percent of their gross revenue;
    • suspended the sale of such beverages for on-premises consumption;
    • limited the operation of bars to seated service; and
    • restricted operational capacity to half of the typical occupancy previously permitted,

    the Fifth DCA determined that those executive orders did not amount to a taking of private property.