An appellate court affirmed a circuit court ruling that two landowners whose north Key Largo land was taken by the state in 2004 should be compensated more than $7 million, plus legal fees.

With interest building at $1,468 a day, Upper Keys attorney Jim Mattson questioned whether the Florida Department of Environmental Protection would pursue the case to the state Supreme Court.

He said the state has 15 days to ask for a rehearing.

Mattson and his former law partner, Andy Tobin, have worked on the case for 13 years.

The property comprises two parcels on the ocean side of County Road 905, between Gulfstream Shores and Ocean Reef Shores.

Everett G. West and Furman Richardson bought the two parcels -- 27.5 acres with 4 or 5 acres of ocean bottom -- between 1950 and 1977.

The state first showed interest in buying the land in 1982, according to case records.

"The state did not file eminent domain actions, however, until March 1995," the document states.

In response, the landowners sued for just compensation. According to Mattson, the state was offering 10 cents on the dollar.

Before the case ever got to circuit court, Mattson said he deposed two then-Monroe County commissioners in 1982: Ed Swift and Ken Sorensen.

"The state pressured the county in 1982 to halt development," Mattson said. "Gov. (Robert) Graham had his eye on the Senate back then. He issued an illegal executive order saying you couldn't build on north Key Largo unless you had a habitat conservation permit. No one challenged him."

Mattson said both Swift and Sorensen said the state told them, "My way or the highway," so they adopted a county moratorium on development for north Key Largo, Holiday Isle and two Lower Keys locations. The moratorium was replaced in 1986, when those properties were deemed county areas of critical concern, effectively blocking development.

The jury was asked to determine the fair market value of the properties as if the state had never offered to buy it or impose eminent domain.

In 1982, when the state first showed interest, there were few restrictions on development of the 27.5 acres. In fact, a potential community of 54,000 was planned along County Road 905 that would have been called Port Bougainvillea.

"Though the state DEP could seek 'discretionary review' from the Florida Supreme Court, the odds of getting such a review are slim," Mattson wrote. "The state is running up interest to the tune of $1,468 per day. As of this date, the state's appeal has added $556,247 to the landowners' compensation (at 11 percent per year, they should appeal forever)."

"Our office is currently ... evaluating our appellate options," wrote Shannon Knowles, DEP spokeswoman.

sgibbs@keysnews.com