Florida high court rules fishermen can sue Mosaic

Tallahassee-The Florida Supreme Court has held that a group of fishermen can sue Mosaic Fertilizer LLC for damages from a 2004 spill from a wastewater pond into Tampa Bay even though the fishermen did not own any of the damaged property. The fishermen claimed that the spilled pollutants from the former Cargill Crop Nutrition phosphogypsum pond resulted in a loss of underwater plant life, fish, bait fish, crabs, and other marine life. They did not claim an ownership in the damaged marine and plant life, but claimed that it resulted in damage to the reputation of the fishery products the fishermen are able to catch and attempt to sell. The trial court had ruled that since the fishermen had no property, they could not make any damage claims. But the state high court said Florida environmental statutes should be “liberally construed,” citing that damages may be recoverable for injury to natural resources and living things. The court concluded that the defendant owed a duty of care to the commercial fishermen and that the fishermen have a cause of action growing out of the negligence. A Mosaic spokesman who asked that his name not be used stated, “We can’t comment on the specifics of the case except that this is not a ruling on the merits of the case but rather they can bring the case to court.”