County's Effort to Intervene in Environmental Case 15 Years After Commencement Deemed Untimely Under FRCP Rule 24

A Florida federal court (Florida Key Deer v. Brown, --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2005 WL 3198012 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 22, 2005) has denied a motion to intervene under Rule 24 filed by a Florida county in a lawsuit between conservation groups and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on the ground that it was untimely. The motion came fifteen years after the lawsuit commenced, making it easy for the court do rule that the motion was untimely, even in the face of the county's arguments that it was never served with documents in the case. Because the lawsuit was well publicized, the court reasoned that the county was well aware of the action and thus reasonably should have known of its pendency. The court also held that the country's interests were adequately represented by the existing defendant in the action, FEMA, providing an additional reason to deny Rule 24 intervention.