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CoreCivic, Formerly Corrections Corporation of America, Denied Money Damages from City of Pembroke Pines

Pembroke Pines, FL (February 25, 2021) -- On Wednesday, February 25, 2021, the Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the City of Pembroke Pines and confirmed that CoreCivic, formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), is not entitled to any monetary payments or damages from the City of Pembroke Pines after the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office (ICE) determined in 2012 not to award it a contract for the construction and operation of an immigration detention and processing center in the Town of Southwest Ranches. 

In 2012 CCA was negotiating with ICE to build an Immigration processing and detention facility in the Town of Southwest Ranches. During the negotiations with ICE, CCA requested that the City of Pembroke Pines agree to provide water and sewer to the proposed immigration facility. The City requested direction from the Court concerning the City's right to accept or reject CCA's request.  Prior to receiving a decision from the Court, ICE decided not to enter into a contract with CCA since ICE advised that it had decided that such a facility was not needed.  Even after ICE submitted a Declaration under oath the reasons it did not proceed to have the immigration facility built, with water and sewer being not one of the reasons, CCA continued to pursue a claim for damages against the City, alleging that the City's failure to timely agree to provide water and sewer was the reason ICE did not contract with CCA to build the Immigration processing and detention facility.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal denied all of CCA's State Court claims for damages in 2019, and after hearing Oral Argument on February 24, 2021, on CCA's remaining federal claim, ruled in less than 24 hours that the trial court's dismissal of CCA's remaining Federal claim was correct. 

The City is pleased that the Court has agreed that CCA never had a valid claim for damages against the City of Pembroke Pines.  

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