Michael J. Tomkiewicz Attorney At Law

Mike's practice is focused on Florida eminent domain and property rights litigation, including the representation of owners and businesses in condemnation actions, inverse condemnation, regulatory takings, Bert J. Harris claims, land use and zoning disputes, as well as real estate related commercial and partnership litigation. He has successfully represented property owners in many difficult and novel cases, at both the trial and appellate levels.

Mike has handled hundreds of eminent domain cases, and has achieved significant benefits for clients, for instance:

• He helped a Pinellas County property owner receive full compensation of $3,713,000, which was an increase of $2,058,675 over the first written offer of $1,654,325;
   
• He defeated the government's taking of an entire 50,000 sq. fort warehouse from a Broward County property owner, where only part of the warehouse was necessary for a road project;
   
• He helped negotiate a settlement of $300,000 for a Leon County property owner, which was 150 times the condemning authority's first written offer of $2,000.

Mike represents a broad spectrum of clients, ranging from large national companies to local Florida companies and individual property owners and tenants, including gas stations, shopping centers, doctor's offices, churches, sand mines, and homeowners.

• Background

  Mike’s passion for eminent domain stems from his own experience with a government taking which affected a neighbor's lake house, where he spent many summers while growing up. He is originally from Upstate New York, where he lived on a small farm. He graduated from the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, in Jacksonville, Florida, and once had aspirations to become a professional musician. Mike is still a patron of the fine arts, along with his wife, Ressa, and their three children.

• Recognition
  • First District Appellate Inn of Court, Master of the Bench
• Education
  • Florida State University, B.S. International Affairs
  • Florida State University, M.S. Applied American Politics and Policy
  • Florida State University College of Law, J.D.
• Admissions
  • Florida
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida
• Professional Associations and Memberships
  • The Florida Bar
    • Eminent Domain Committee, Member
  • Tallahassee Bar Association 
• Civic
  • Zeta Beta Tau, House Corporation President
• Reported Cases
  • Berlin v. State Dept. of Transp., Case No. 4D18-3057, --- So. 3d ---, 2020 WL 88799 (Jan. 8, 2020)