Florida Business Damages Deadlines: The 180/120-Day Rules

In eligible Florida eminent domain cases, “business damages” can be a major part of the recovery—especially for income-producing, operational properties like hotels. But these claims are procedural. If deadlines are missed, the court can strike the claim unless a legally recognized good-faith justification applies. If your hotel may have a business-damage component, do not wait. Call 1 (800) 628-4665 or email Contact@Nation.Law to protect your timeline.

EMINENT DOMAIN

Steps To Maximize Your Recovery When The Government Targets Your Hotel

  1. The business-damage offer deadline (180 days)
    Florida’s presuit framework requires a qualifying business owner who intends to claim business damages to submit a good-faith written offer to settle business damages within 180 days after receipt of the required notice (or other statutory trigger events), unless a later date is agreed.

 

What that offer must generally include:

    1. An explanation of the nature, extent, and amount of the damage
    2. Support that is competent for the type of business (often prepared by the owner, a CPA, or a qualified business-damage expert familiar with the business operations)
    3. Business records that substantiate the offer

The practical takeaway: you must build the business-damages file early—financials, occupancy and rate history, channel mix, group contracts, STR-type performance, and project causation proof.

  1. The “strike” risk if you miss it

If the business-damage offer is not timely submitted, the condemning authority can attack the claim in the litigation. Absent a recognized good-faith justification, the court can strike the business-damage claim. In appropriate circumstances, the court may allow additional time (up to an additional statutory period) if the business owner demonstrates a good-faith justification. This is why business damages are often won or lost before the lawsuit is even underway.

  1. The condemning authority response deadline (120 days)

After the business owner submits the offer and supporting business records, the condemning authority must generally respond within 120 days by:

    1. Accepting
    2. Rejecting
    3. Making a counteroffer

If the condemning authority fails to respond, the consequences can affect how attorneys’ fees benefits are calculated under Florida’s fee framework.

Why This Matters For Hotels Specifically

Hotels are uniquely document-heavy and causation-heavy. Business damages often require:

  • Clean and credible financial records over multiple years
  • A clear “project-caused change” narrative (access, parking, visibility, construction disruption)
  • Coordination between valuation strategy and business-loss analysis so the story is consistent

Waiting until the government “gets serious” is often the mistake. By then, the deadline clock may already be running. Call 1 (800) 628-4665 or email Contact@Nation.Law.

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