Florida wants its $20M back

Florida economic development officials will attempt to claw back millions of dollars in incentives from a bankrupt Port St. Lucie firm that considered moving to Sarasota in 2009.

The company, Digital Domain, an Academy Award-winning special effects firm, laid off nearly 300 employees and filed for bankruptcy in September after it defaulted on a $35 million loan. California-based Digital Domain nearly relocated to Sarasota County, where local and state officials dangled $32 million in subsidies, tax breaks and land grants, click here to read more.

The state Department of Economic Opportunity now wants to get in line with creditors and other government entities for its money back, according a Florida News Service report. The department, in a legislative budget request, asked state lawmakers to provide $500,000 to hire attorneys who will seek to recoup up to $20 million in incentives. The department plans to use attorneys in Delaware, where Digital Domain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to the news service.

The bankruptcy case, meanwhile, is moving ahead. A judge approved a sale of Digital Domain assets for $30.2 million to an investor group in China and India late last month, the news service reports. Investors and former employees have also sued the company, in addition to the list of creditors that seek redress.