ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A lawsuit filed over the St. Augustine City Commission’s decision to remove its Confederate memorial has been dismissed.
The lawsuit sought to keep the city from moving the memorial from the Plaza de la Constitucion until the city’s Historic Architectural Review Board could study the issue.
The memorial lists the names of local men who died serving the Confederacy.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Jill Pacetti and other descendants of men listed on the memorial, the Veterans Council of St. Johns County and the Ancient City Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America.
“I don’t know what’s next,” Pacetti said. “Of course we’re disappointed. We’re just really hoping that the city will take all precautionary measures. We didn’t ask for a lot. We just asked for them to make sure that it will be okay, and they have not followed through with it.”
City leaders have promised to take care to preserve the memorial and find another home for it.
St. Johns County Circuit Judge R. Lee Smith signed the order Friday.
The order says that the "Plaintiffs lack standing to challenge the City's decision to relocate the Obelisk."
"Because the Plaintiffs' Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief must be dismissed for lack of standing, it follows that their request for the Court's permission to engage experts to evaluate the feasibility of relocating the Obelisk is mooted by the instant Order," the order says.
The order adds that "there are no foreseeable circumstances that would allow them to establish their standing to bring this action again."
The Commission voted 3-2 on June 22 to remove the memorial.