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Bern's Steak House and other property owners file class-action lawsuits against Tampa over $100 million South Howard flood project

Bern's Steak House, companies tied to the Ciccio Restaurant Group and the Epicurean Hotel filed two class-action lawsuits Thursday against the City of Tampa, Mayor Jane Castor, contractor Kimmins Contracting Corp. and engineering firm AtkinsRéalis USA Inc., challenging the $100 million flood relief project along South Howard Avenue. The first lawsuit alleges the city illegally diverted $13.4 million from a taxpayer-assessed stormwater fee without a required public hearing and awarded the $92.7 million construction contract to Kimmins without following proper selection guidelines; the second claims Tampa does not own the property rights required to dig trenches underneath private land. The plaintiffs are asking a judge to block construction along South Howard Avenue until the legal disputes are resolved.