Page 14 - First Coast Vol 4 No 1

PAPALAS & GRIFFITH PLLC
200 W. Forsyth Street, Suite 1230 Jacksonville, Florida 32202
(904) 647-6146 www.eminentdomain- .com
PRACTICE AREAS
Eminent Domain Inverse Condemnation Property Rights
Ad Valorem Tax Issues
MENELAOS “MANNY” PAPLAS
EDUCATION
J.D., Florida State University College of Law, 1997
B.S., Jacksonville University, 1994
HONORS
AV Preeminent rated by Martindale- Hubbell
40 Under 40, Jacksonville Business Journal, 2009
Volunteer Attorney of the Year, Hillsborough County Guardian Ad Litem Program, 2000
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
American Bar Association
The Florida Bar, Eminent Domain
Committee
Jacksonville Bar Association
HOBBIES
Travel, Cooking, Reading, Exercise and Foodie
FAMILY
Soon-To-Be Wife, Lauren Son, Nicolas, 21
CHUCK GRIFFITH
EDUCATION
J.D., Florida Coastal School of Law, 2012 B.A., Elon University, 2009
HONORS
Top 10 Attorney Under 40, Attorney at Law Magazine, 2017
Member of Urban Land Institute North Florida, Center for Leadership – Class of 2018-19
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
American Bar Association
The Florida Bar
Jacksonville Bar Association, Young
Lawyers Section, Board of Governors, Ex- Of cio Board Member
HOBBIES
Running, Tennis and Family
FAMILY
Wife, Lauren
Daughters, Ginny (4) and Maggie (1)
CHUCK GRIFFITH, RENEE FARRINGTON AND MANNY PAPALAS: IN OCTOBER, THE PAPALAS & GRIFFITH TEAM CELEBRATED THE FIRM’S OPENING IN LONDON WITH THE JAGUARS.
“Coming here was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” she continues. “ e atmosphere here is very laidback and friendly. Everyone has a role and we work as a team. ey make me feel appreciated and they give me the freedom to use my brain. I feel like I’m continuing to grow with the new chal- lenges and responsibilities I’ve been given. Feeling that I’m an important part of the team has given me motivation and determination to always be better.”
POSITIVE OUTCOMES
Another thing all three members of the Palapas & Gri th team agree on is how wonderful it is to work in a eld of law that lends itself to unique and interesting cases as well as posi- tive results for clients.
“I always challenge myself to really understand the subject property and why it works the way it does,” notes Papalas. “For example, we represented a gas station/convenience store that was having a strip of seemingly surplus property by the road taken. At rst blush, FDOT’s appraisal and resulting o er seemed relatively fair, even though no severance damages were included in recommended compensation to my client. How- ever, further onsite study revealed that large trucks needed this strip to deliver food and fuel. is was the only safe place for these trucks to park. Without it, the trucks would block fuel pumps, take up customer parking and generally prevent the site from functioning properly. We were ultimately able to make these issues part of the case, and to help the client get a recovery that fairly addressed the damages. Catching those types of things is very rewarding, as the taking lawsuit repre- sents the one chance landowners have to be ‘made whole’ for the taking.”
Gri th agrees, emphasizing that, “Routinely, we nd that it’s the takings that appear on the surface, the least harmful to landowners and business owners that require the highest level of representation. Having seasoned eminent domain counsel streamlines the process for the client. We are able to use our experience and our relationships with experts who have dealt with eminent domain to most e ciently navigate our cases and achieve positive results.”
e bottom line, as noted on their website: “Florida’s con- stitution guarantees ‘full compensation’ when your property is taken. We’ll make sure you get it.”
At a Glance