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The City passed an ordinance that required developers to connect to the Private Utility. Only a few months later, the State Agency granted Private Utility the exclusive right to service the project, because the City did not object to the Private Utility's application. Private Utility sued to get rights to the project, arguing that it was already providing service in that territory. Both parties agreed that the entity, public or private, that first acquired the right to provide service to the project, and which had the ability to do so, is the entity with the exclusive legal right to the project. But, argued the Private Utility, the Public Utility sat on its rights and allowed the Private Utility to move into the territory. The appellate court agreed, ruling that the Public Utility waived its exclusive rights by not "promptly and efficiently" providing service to the project territory.
Moral: Early word gets the bird. Lake Utility Services, Inc. v. City of Clermont, 727 So.2d 984 (Fla. 5DCA 1999). |
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