Skip to content
  • (413) 834-4284
  • [email protected]
  • 21 Grinnell St, Greenfield, Massachusetts
Search
Close
Sprawl-busters
  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
    • Links
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Home Towns, Not Home Depot
    • The Case Against Sprawl
  • Victories
  • Blog
    • Share Your Battle
  • Contact
Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
    • Links
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Home Towns, Not Home Depot
    • The Case Against Sprawl
  • Victories
  • Blog
    • Share Your Battle
  • Contact
  • Uncategorized

Wal-Mart Files Second Lawsuit After Town Rejection

  • Al Norman
  • October 20, 2007
  • No Comments

Wal-Mart has more lawsuits than men’s suits. The retailer proposed to build a 24/7 superstore on 36 acres of land in Davie, Florida. The project was vigorously opposed by residents of the Rolling Hills Lake Estates, and Pine Island Bay. In July of 2006, Wal-Mart couldn’t muster a single vote when their project came before the Davie Town Council. The retailer’s plans for a 202,853 s.f. superstore were slam-dunked on a 4-0 vote. Council members ruled that the store would destroy local businesses and create too much of a disruption for nearby residents. Wal-Mart’s argument hinged on a legal settlement from 17 years ago that allowed larger stores than the town now permits. Not willing to respect the wishes of local officials, Wal-Mart filed a lawsuit in Broward Circuit Court in October of 2006, charging that council members wrongly denied their plan. On March 21, 2007, Sprawl-Busters reported that a Broward County, Florida judge gave residents in Davie, Florida a victory, siding with the town. But Wal-Mart appealed that circuit court decision in March, 2007, and last week filed a second lawsuit on the federal level. Wal-Mart went to federal court to try to get a judge to enforce the 1989 legal settlement between the town and the property’s former owner. Wal-Mart now owns the property, and is trying to use the 1989 agreement to allow them to build. “We’re basically asking a court to enforce the agreement we had with the town of Davie, so the town will do what it promised to do,” a Wal-Mart spokesman told the Miami Herald. The town’s lawyer says the 1989 settlement with a former owner does not transfer to Wal-Mart, and that the retailer is just “shopping around” for another judge. I guess they didn’t like the result they got in the state Circuit Court,” the town’s attorney said. Now Davie taxpayers have to ante up more money to defend themselves against a second Wal-Mart lawsuit. The town has to respond to the federal lawsuit by October 26th.

Wal-Mart’s strategy is to push Davie officials to the point of “litigation fatigue,” when the town feels they can’t afford to keep paying legal bills. Wal-Mart can hold its breath legally longer than most towns. Instead of respecting the decision of local officials, Wal-Mart would rather fight than move. There are 20 Wal-Marts within 20 miles of Davie, including 11 superstores. The Wal-Mart superstore in Cooper City, Florida is only 5 miles away. Any new supercenter in Davie will only cannibalize sales in Cooper City — something Wal-Mart has said it no longer wants to do. Wal-Mart stockholders might well ask why their company has spent almost a year and a half since the town rejected the superstore, piling on the legal bills by filing multiple lawsuits. Davie describes itself as “a family-oriented and diverse community that retains its hometown feeling.” Readers can call Davie Mayor Tom Truex at (954) 797-1030 to urge him to keep battling Wal-Mart. Tell the Mayor: “Don’t let Wal-Mart’s multiple lawsuits intimidate you. As a lawyer, you know Wal-Mart’s tactic of wearing the town down. But you already have 20 Wal-Mart’s within 20 miles, and that 1989 agreement does not apply to Wal-Mart. Keep fighting to stop this kind of sprawling development. Keep that Davie hometown feeling.”

Like this article?

Share on facebook
Share on Facebook
Share on twitter
Share on Twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on Linkdin
Share on pinterest
Share on Pinterest
Al Norman

Al Norman

Al Norman first achieved national attention in October of 1993 when he successfully stopped Wal-Mart from locating in his hometown of Greenfield, Massachusetts. Almost 3 decades later they is still not Wal-Mart in Greenfield. Norman has appeared on 60 Minutes, was featured in three films, wrote 3 books about Wal-Mart, and gained widespread media attention from the Wall Street Journal to Fortune magazine. Al has traveled throughout the U.S., Barbados, Puerto Rico, Ireland, and Japan, helping dozens of local coalitions fight off unwanted sprawl development. 60 Minutes called Al “the guru of the anti-Wal-Mart movement.”

Leave a comment

Find Us

  • 21 Grinnell St, Greenfield, MA
  • (413) 834-4284
  • [email protected]

Helpful Links

  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
Menu
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Recent Posts

CHRISTIAN SMALLS, FIRED AMZN WAREHOUSE WORKER, FILES RACE DISCRIMATION LAWSUIT. …

November 16, 2020

DUE TO THE SURGE IN CORONA CASES, WMT IS LIMITING SHOPPERS TO 5 PER 1,000 SF. A…

November 16, 2020

AMAZON RECENTLY ANNOUNCED FREE 1 HOUR GROCERY PICK UP FOR PRIME MEMBER ORDERS &g…

November 15, 2020

AFTER BEING REJECTED BY THE DEERFIELD, MA PLANNING BOARD, DOLLAR GENERAL APPEALS…

November 15, 2020

WILL TRUMP ALLOW ORACLE & WALMART TO INVEST IN TIK TOK? The deadline to ban …

November 14, 2020

AMAZON ACCUSED OF BREAKING ANTITRUST RULES IN EUROPE. “Data of 3rd-party sellers…

November 14, 2020

WALMART PET CARE NOW SELLING PET INSURANCE. My 3 year old mixed breed cat would …

November 13, 2020

WALMART’S GOING TO THE DOGS. 90 M OF ITS CUSTOMERS HAVE DOGS. You’d be Goofy not…

November 13, 2020

WALMART CASHIERS STILL LOOKING FOR A SEAT. They won a $65 M lawsuit in 2019, but…

November 12, 2020

4 DAYS BEFORE THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION,THE CO-FOUNDER OF HOME DEPOT SAID: “Pres…

November 12, 2020

Recent Tweets

Al Norman 16 hours ago

WALMART mini warehouses are coming. No shoppers. The mini uses “robots & employees to quickly complete online orders for delivery or curbside pickup.” “WMT will be seen more like a service,” with health clinics & financial service. WMT just copies AMZN. https://t.co/kA2jOQY8p2

Read More
Al Norman 17 hours ago

KROGER is closing 2 of it’s 15 grocery stores in Seattle because the city passed a $4/hr. Covid “Heroe’s pay” wage hike. Grocery stores “operate on razor-thin profit margins,” Kroger says. So do the families of Kroger workers. https://t.co/7vP8KF1ZDZ

Read More
Al Norman 2 days ago

YOU PICK THE HEADLINE. After multiple lawsuits for racial, sexual, gender, & age bias, Home Depot apparently believes it can use grants to wipe away all the racial discrimination cases they have settled with the EEOC and others. Reparations money. https://t.co/Kjv7OEU5ZE

Read More

Ⓒ 2020 - All Rights Are Reserved

Design and Development by Just Peachy Web Design

Download Our Free Guide

Download our Free Guide

Learn How To Stop Big Box Stores And Fulfillment Warehouses In Your Community

The strategies written here were produced by Sprawl-Busters in 2006 at the request of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), mainly for citizen groups that were fighting Walmart. But the tips for fighting unwanted development apply to any project—whether its fighting Dollar General, an Amazon warehouse, or a Home Depot.

Big projects, or small, these BATTLEMART TIPS will help you better understand what you are up against, and how to win your battle.