We cover major rulings, significant civil and business cases, government in court, serious felonies with official outcomes, and new laws. We leave out petty cases and personal disputes. Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Notable cases & rulings 3
Significant civil and criminal cases in Brevard and the 18th Judicial Circuit, federal cases from the Orlando division tied to Brevard, and appeals rulings that affect the county.
Environmental / federal civil
Federal appeals court vacates injunction behind Brevard septic-permit moratorium
Oct 8, 2026 · U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit · No. 25-11612 (Bear Warriors United v. Secretary, Florida DEP)
Bear Warriors United sued the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, alleging that the state's wastewater permitting harmed manatee habitat in the North Indian River Lagoon in violation of the Endangered Species Act. A federal judge in Orlando ruled for the group, and the resulting injunction led to a pause on new septic-system permits affecting Brevard. On Oct. 8 the appeals court vacated that judgment and injunction because the federal definition of "harm" the trial court relied on was rescinded while the appeal was pending.
Status: Sent back to the U.S. District Court (Orlando) to reconsider under the current rule. The lawsuit itself is not over.
Why it matters: The ruling removes the court order behind the septic-permit pause, which affects building on lots that need septic systems.
Sources: 11th Circuit opinion (PDF)Florida Specifier
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
Land use / appellate
Appeals court revives property owner's land-use dispute with Brevard County
Sep 10, 2026 · Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal · Traska v. Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County
A property owner used Florida's Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act (FLUEDRA) to settle a code-enforcement dispute with the county. After the County Commission rejected a tentative settlement, the county said the law's 165-day window had expired and stopped the process, and a Brevard circuit judge dismissed the owner's lawsuit. The appeals court reversed, finding the owner stated a plausible claim and that the trial court decided disputed facts without taking evidence.
Status: Reversed and sent back to Brevard circuit court for further proceedings.
Why it matters: It clarifies how the state's land-use mediation deadline works when the county and an owner keep negotiating past it.
Sources: Fifth DCA opinion (FindLaw)
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
Civil / product liability
Brevard jury awards $14 million in product-contamination case against ice cream franchisor
Mar 26, 2026 · Brevard County Circuit Court (18th Judicial Circuit)
A Brevard jury awarded more than $14 million to a customer who was seriously injured after eating ice cream containing metal fragments, bought in 2018 at a franchise location on Malabar Road in Palm Bay. Jurors found the national franchisor liable under an agency theory, extending responsibility beyond the individual franchise location.
Status: Jury verdict. Any post-trial motions or appeal had not been reported.
Why it matters: A verdict holding a national franchisor responsible for a local location matters to franchise owners across Brevard.
Sources: News 6 (WKMG)Florida Today
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
Outcomes & verdicts 5
Verdicts, sentences, pleas and dismissals in cases of real public interest.
Criminal / homicide
Man pleads guilty to 2023 Canaveral Groves killings; state seeks death penalty
Aug 27, 2026 · Brevard County Circuit Court (18th Judicial Circuit)
Domenico Gigante, 40, representing himself, pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed burglary in the March 1, 2023, shootings of four people in a home northwest of Cocoa. He waived a jury for sentencing, so Circuit Judge Laura Moody alone will decide between death and life in prison. The State Attorney's Office says it will continue to seek the death penalty.
Status: Convicted by guilty plea. Sentencing is pending; the State Attorney's Office expected the hearing in late October or early November.
Why it matters: It resolves the guilt phase of one of Brevard's deadliest crimes, and a death-penalty decision is next.
Sources: State Attorney, 18th CircuitWFTV
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
Criminal / homicide
West Melbourne man sentenced to 60 years in 2021 death of 3-year-old
Jun 22, 2026 · Brevard County Circuit Court (18th Judicial Circuit)
Joshua Manns, 30, pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 60 years in prison for second-degree murder in the child-abuse death of his girlfriend's son in 2021, with concurrent terms for related child-abuse counts. The plea agreement, supported by the boy's father, came as jury selection was underway and spared Manns a first-degree murder trial and a possible death sentence.
Status: Sentenced on June 22, 2026. A co-defendant was charged separately; that case is handled on its own.
Why it matters: It brings a court outcome in one of Brevard's most closely followed child-death prosecutions.
Sources: State Attorney, 18th Circuit
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
Criminal / drug trafficking
Merritt Island man sentenced to 30 years for fentanyl and cocaine trafficking
Apr 15, 2026 · Brevard County Circuit Court (18th Judicial Circuit)
A Brevard jury in February convicted Jeremy D. Priest, 51, of trafficking fentanyl and cocaine after a 2021 sheriff's raid found 523 grams of fentanyl, cocaine, cash and a loaded handgun at his home. Jurors also found he qualified as a Habitual Felony Offender. Circuit Judge Kathryn Speicher sentenced him to 30 years in prison followed by lifetime probation.
Status: Sentenced on April 15, 2026. A second trafficking case from 2023 was pending at the time of the release.
Why it matters: It is one of the larger fentanyl trafficking cases tried in Brevard.
Sources: State Attorney, 18th Circuit
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
Criminal / violent felony
Life sentence after jury verdict in 2019 Rockledge carjacking and police pursuit
Mar 30, 2026 · Brevard County Circuit Court (18th Judicial Circuit)
A Brevard jury on March 26 found Jermaine D. Morgan, 36, guilty of carjacking, robbery, burglary of a conveyance with battery, and aggravated fleeing from police, all from a 2019 incident in Rockledge. Because jurors also found he qualified as a Prison Releasee Reoffender, Circuit Judge Charles Crawford imposed the mandatory sentence of life without parole on March 30.
Status: Convicted and sentenced to life in prison. A related firearm charge remained pending at the time.
Why it matters: It shows Florida's repeat-offender sentencing law applied in a Brevard violent-crime case.
Sources: State Attorney, 18th Circuit
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
Federal criminal / drug trafficking
Melbourne man sentenced to 30 years in federal prison on drug and firearm convictions
Jan 21, 2026 · U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida (Orlando)
U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger sentenced Quentes Durrelle Simpson, 33, of Melbourne, after a federal jury convicted him in October 2025 of distributing methamphetamine and fentanyl and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. A search of his home after controlled buys found more than 700 grams of methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, loaded firearms and more than $36,000 in cash, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Status: Sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, with forfeiture of firearms and $600 in proceeds.
Why it matters: It came out of a joint DEA, FBI, ATF, Palm Bay and Melbourne police investigation in south Brevard.
Sources: U.S. Attorney's Office release (via Space Coast Daily)Orlando-News.com
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
Government & public bodies in court 4
Lawsuits involving the county, cities and School Board, plus ethics cases, public-records rulings and land-use litigation.
Government / labor arbitration
Judge confirms arbitration award against Brevard School Board in teacher reprimand case
Sep 29, 2026 · Brevard County Circuit Court (18th Judicial Circuit)
The Brevard Federation of Teachers grieved a reprimand and non-renewal of a former Satellite High School teacher. A February 2026 arbitration award upheld the non-renewal but found that letters of reprimand are discipline that requires "just cause" under the teachers' contract. The School Board asked the court to strike that part of the award; Circuit Judge Curt Jacobus denied the request and confirmed the award in full.
Status: Award confirmed. The non-renewal stands; the just-cause holding applies under the contract.
Why it matters: Reprimands of Brevard public school teachers can now be grieved under the contract's just-cause standard.
Sources: Florida TodayThe Space Coast Rocket
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
Ethics
State ethics commission finds probable cause on gift allegations against U.S. Rep. Randy Fine
Aug 28, 2026 · Florida Commission on Ethics
At its Aug. 28 meeting the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause on allegations that Fine, a Brevard Republican, accepted gifts over $100 from a prohibited donor and gifts from a political committee while serving in the Florida House. It found no probable cause on a financial-disclosure allegation. In a separate complaint filed by former Brevard School Board member Jennifer Jenkins, the commission dismissed some allegations and sent others toward a public hearing.
Status: Probable cause is not a finding of a violation. The matters can go to a public hearing before an administrative law judge or be resolved by stipulation.
Why it matters: It is a formal state ethics proceeding involving a Brevard-based member of Congress.
Sources: Commission on Ethics press release (PDF)News 6 (WKMG)
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
Land use / property rights
Developer's takings suit against Titusville over former Royal Oak Golf Course moves forward
Jul 21, 2026 · Brevard County Circuit Court (18th Judicial Circuit) · Royal Oaks FL LLC v. City of Titusville
After the Titusville City Council in February declined to advance a land-use change for a proposed 511-home community on the 147-acre former golf course, owner Royal Oaks FL LLC sued in March, alleging regulatory and physical takings. Circuit Judge George T. Paulk denied the city's motion to dismiss on July 21. The city has answered, arguing its decision was a lawful use of police power. A separate suit by a neighboring condominium association over who owns and maintains drainage strips on the property is also pending.
Status: Pending. These are the parties' claims, not court findings. A Dec. 1 hearing is scheduled on the association's request to join the takings case.
Why it matters: The outcome could decide whether the land is developed and who is responsible for a regional stormwater system.
Sources: 321 DailyTalk of Titusville
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
Public records
Judge finds unreasonable delays in school board member's public-records responses
Feb 10, 2026 · Brevard County Circuit Court (18th Judicial Circuit) · 05-2023-CA-018437 (Jenkins v. Brevard County School Board and Matthew Susin)
Former School Board member Jennifer Jenkins sued in 2023 over requests for call logs, texts and emails of School Board member Matt Susin. Circuit Judge Scott Blaue ruled largely in Jenkins' favor, finding that delays in producing some requested records were unreasonable under Florida's Public Records Act. The order did not require production of the personal phone logs, and the court kept jurisdiction to decide attorney's fees.
Status: Ruling issued on Feb. 10, 2026; the fee decision was left for later, and Jenkins' attorney said an appeal was planned on the phone-log question.
Why it matters: It tests how Florida's public-records law applies to officials' personal devices and to how quickly records must be produced.
Sources: Florida TodayThe Space Coast Rocket
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
New laws & local ordinances 4
New Florida laws in effect and Brevard ordinances that matter to residents and businesses.
County referendum
Voters decide Nov. 3 whether to renew the Save Our Indian River Lagoon half-cent sales tax
Nov 3, 2026 · Brevard County ballot (Ordinance No. 2026-06) · Ordinance No. 2026-06
The County Commission adopted an ordinance on May 19 to renew the half-cent lagoon sales surtax through Dec. 31, 2036, subject to voter approval. The current tax, first approved in 2016, expires Dec. 31, 2026. WESH reports it brings in nearly $59 million a year, dedicated to a lagoon restoration trust fund. Two school tax renewals and several city charter questions are also on Brevard ballots.
Status: On the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. A yes vote renews the tax; a no vote lets it expire at the end of 2026.
Why it matters: It decides whether Brevard's main source of local lagoon cleanup money continues for another 10 years.
Sources: Brevard Supervisor of ElectionsWESH
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
State law
New Florida laws in effect Oct. 1: crash-report threshold, rental fraud, pretrial no-contact violations
Oct 1, 2026 · Florida Legislature · SB 488, HB 1293, HB 397
SB 488 raises the property-damage amount that requires drivers to report a crash to police from $500 to $2,000. HB 1293 creates the crime of fraudulent entry of a residential dwelling, aimed at people who take over rental homes using false identities or forged documents. HB 397 makes it a separate crime for someone on pretrial release for certain violent offenses to willfully violate a no-contact order.
Status: In effect since Oct. 1, 2026.
Why it matters: The changes affect Brevard drivers, landlords and property managers, and victims of violent crime.
Sources: WESH
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
County ordinance
Brevard makes data centers ineligible for county economic-development tax breaks
Aug 4, 2026 · Brevard County Board of County Commissioners · Ordinance No. 2026-11
The County Commission adopted an ordinance that defines "data center" and makes such facilities ineligible for Brevard's economic-development ad valorem tax exemption program. The county's agenda report cited data centers' relatively few permanent jobs and their heavy demands for electricity, water and land. Under state law, data centers could otherwise get exemptions of up to 20 years.
Status: Adopted Aug. 4, 2026.
Why it matters: Data center developers considering Brevard would pay full property taxes, which could affect where they choose to build.
Sources: Brevard County agenda item (Legistar)
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
State law
July 1 Florida laws: restaurant fee disclosure, data-center utility rules, limits on local equipment bans
Jul 1, 2026 · Florida Legislature · SB 606, SB 484, SB 290
Under SB 606, restaurants that add mandatory charges such as automatic service fees, delivery fees or card surcharges must disclose them on menus and online ordering platforms and itemize them on receipts. SB 484 sets new utility rules for large-load customers such as data centers and orders a state review of their impact. SB 290 bars counties from banning or restricting certain gas-powered landscape equipment, such as leaf blowers, in covered circumstances.
Status: In effect since July 1, 2026.
Why it matters: Brevard restaurants, diners and local governments all have new rules to follow.
Sources: WFLX
Last updated Oct 24, 2026
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