PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. – William Swaim, the man notorious for claiming ownership of submerged lands across Florida, has lost yet another legal battle. In a major ruling, a Florida judge rejected his latest attempt to claim public land, marking yet another courtroom defeat for the developer.
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Swaim, through his company South Spanish Trail (SST) LLC, had sued major tech firms — including GlobeNet and Caribbean Crossings —demanding over $250 million in damages and the removal of fiber optic cables from the Intracoastal Waterway near Boca Raton. He argued that the submerged lands where the cables run belonged to him rather than the state of Florida.
But after six years of legal back-and-forth, the courts shut him down. On Jan. 2, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge John J. Parnofiello ruled against Swaim, confirming that these submerged lands are state-owned sovereign property and not up for private ownership.
Swaim claimed ownership of the submerged land under the Intracoastal Waterway based on a controversial legal strategy. Through his company, South Spanish Trail (SST) LLC, he argued that he had acquired title to these underwater parcels, through historical property records or deeds that he believed gave him a legitimate claim.
His goal was to assert private ownership over these lands, despite longstanding legal principles that grant states ownership of navigable waterways and their submerged lands upon statehood.
“This is a significant victory, not only for our clients and the telecommunications companies who operate subsea cables in Florida, but also for the citizens of the State of Florida,” said West Palm Beach Litigation Shareholder Robert “Bobby” Kane III, who led Greenberg Traurig’s representation of the defendants. “The court’s rulings squarely rejected SST’s attempt to take sovereign lands that belong to our children and successive generations of Floridians.”
This is far from the first time Swaim has tried and failed to convince a court that he owns underwater land. His companies have filed multiple lawsuits claiming ownership of submerged lands, often targeting homeowners and local governments with demands for fees or property rights.
In 2021, Local 10 reported that Swaim’s company, Hillsboro Inlet Investments, claimed he owned parts of the Hillsboro Inlet, including sections of people’s backyards.
The lawsuit alarmed local homeowners, some of whom suddenly faced demands to pay fees for using their own land.
In September 2023, Broward County District Court Judge Jack Tuter ruled in favor of the homeowners, determining that Swaim’s claim lacked a valid chain of title. The court found that the original entity had relinquished its ownership of the parcels back in 1946, rendering Swaim’s quitclaim deed invalid.
Local 10 News also exposed another Swaim-controlled company, McCormick Mile Investments.
McCormick Mile attempted to claim ownership of canals behind residential properties in Palm Beach County. Swaim demanded substantial fees from homeowners for docking their boats, despite the fact that these waterways had been used by residents for decades without issue. The courts ruled against him.
The court’s ruling ensures that the critical fiber optic infrastructure running through the Intracoastal Waterway remains intact and secure.