Coastal Petroleum Company said Florida's First District Court of Appeal denied motions by the State and certain environmental groups asking for a rehearing of the Court's decision of Oct. 6, 1999. The Court also affirmed that the Florida circuit court was the proper venue to determine the issue of the State's taking of Coastal's property. In its October decision, the Court said, "There is no dispute that (Coastal) has a viable contract with the State of Florida to explore for and extract oil from submerged sovereignty lands. DEP's interpretation and application of the permitting statute, based on its determination that there is a compelling public purpose in not allowing (Coastal) to drill offshore, effectively prevents the appellant from exercising its rights under the contract.
