On Oct. 11, Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeal affirmed Circuit Judge James Sloan’s decision in the Williams Stephens, Carol Grey and Keely Cinkota vs. Hendry County case that Hendry County officials did not violate the Sunshine Law.

The original lawsuit was filed by the plaintiffs in 2014 in regard to the county’s allowance of non-human primate breeding facilities on agriculturally zoned lands in Hendry County.

“We are pleased that the panel of three judges with the 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld Judge Sloan’s decision that Hendry County did not violate the Sunshine Law,” said Charles Chapman, county administrator. “Hendry County continues to stand by the rights provided to our property owners contained within the language of our comprehensive plan and land development code.”

This concludes the litigation, and no further appeals will be possible. The county will be seeking to recover from the plaintiffs the court costs that the county incurred in the litigation.