MIAMI — Amid an ongoing dispute, the company that owns the mainline railroad from Miami to Jacksonville raised concerns about plans to increase high-speed passenger train services in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Attorneys representing the Florida East Coast Railway, which Grupo México Transportes acquired on July 7, 2017, filed a civil lawsuit against Brightline Trains Florida LLC on July 11 in Miami-Dade County court.
“Notwithstanding, Brightline’s inability to operate safely at current capacity, Defendants conceived of a scheme to nearly double the number of passenger trains operating on the FEC corridor,” the attorneys representing FEC Railway wrote in the 166-page lawsuit.
FEC Railway later added six other defendants: Fortress Investments Group LLC, and four companies filed in 2021 -- BL Expansion LLC, MDC Commuter LLC, BRWD COMMUTER LLC, and PBC COMMUTER LLC.
“Absent fully funded upgrades, the commuter plan diverts scarce public dollars into a commuter service that cannot work, crowds out freight, triggers delays, and pushes cargo to trucks,” the FEC Railway attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.
While FEC Railway demanded a trial by jury on 10 counts, Brightline’s attorneys pushed for dismissal or arbitration for months.
In a July 29 motion, Brightline accused FEC Railway of publicly seeking to “harm” Brightline. In another motion filed on Sept. 15, Brightline’s attorneys argued that a courtroom was “not the proper forum” to deal with FEC Railway’s “frivolous” claims.
On Nov. 16, Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Robert Watson granted a temporary stay pending the resolution of the arbitration “by agreement of the parties” and by “no later” than Dec. 19. There was a status hearing set for Dec. 16.
The Florida Department of Transportation and transit authorities in Broward and Miami-Dade have been evaluating the commuter rail expansion for years.
Officials have considered using government funding for a list of stations that included Wynwood, FIU North Campus, Aventura, and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
In opposition, the FEC Railway’s civil lawsuit against Brightline had demanded a trial on 10 counts: Violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unsafe Trade Practices Act, common law unfair competition, fraudulent inducement, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, aiding and abetting fraudulent inducement, aiding and abetting fraudulent misrepresentation, aiding and abetting fraudulent concealment, slander of title, and quiet title.
Brightline did not respond to a request for comment.
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