Former Digital Domain facilty, 10250 S.W. Village Parkway, Port St. Lucie. (FILE PHOTO)

By Nicole Rodriguez of TCPalm

PORT ST. LUCIE — The city, the state and former Digital Domain CEO John Textor all will get multimillion-dollar payouts from a settlement in the two-year-old lawsuit against the defunct Digital Domain Media Group.

Port St. Lucie and the state — which both provided economic incentives to bring Digital Domain here in 2009 — each will get about $3 million, according to the settlement, which was approved Friday by a federal bankruptcy judge. Textor — who presided over both the creation and the bankruptcy of the high-tech digital-animation studio — will receive more than $8 million.

The state Department of Economic Opportunity filed the suit in July 2014 against 23 defendants, including Textor, claiming the company fraudulently secured millions of dollars from the state. The city joined the suit after it was filed.

The state said the company circumvented normal channels to secure $20 million in state incentive money, which it later used as leverage to secure millions more from Port St. Lucie and West Palm Beach, according to the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, company officials were able to work around normal economic-development channels by "wooing" former Gov. Charlie Crist.

Port St. Lucie gave Digital Domain $51.8 million in incentives, including land and a fully equipped, state-of-the-art studio in exchange for jobs and economic development. It will receive $3.2 million in the settlement, city officials said Tuesday. The state, which gave Digital Domain $20 million, will get about $3 million, state officials said.

"There was concern over throwing good money after bad, but we moved forward and fought the good fight," Mayor Greg Oravec said in a statement Tuesday. "This prudent decision resulted in ... a big win for our citizens. This recovery does not fully repay the original investment. But, with the building sold to a caring and community-oriented new property owner, and this seven-figure payment soon to be in hand, we have made the most of a difficult situation."

The state, too, considers the settlement a victory, although it blamed Crist for his swift support of the failed venture.

"The deal with Digital Domain was approved in 2009 under Gov. Charlie Crist," Cissy Proctor, executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, said in a statement Tuesday. "In 2011, under the leadership of Gov. Scott, DEO restructured the incentive process to prioritize accountability and transparency for the state's taxpayers, to ensure a deal like this doesn't happen again."

Textor will receive an $8.5 million reduction on a mortgage on a property in Telluride, Colorado, according to court documents. Textor used the home to secure a $10 million loan for Digital Domain, he said.

Textor said he considers the ruling vindication.

"Had the court not ruled that the management team acted truthfully, the management team would be contributing to the settlement," Textor said Tuesday.

Textor said he would not be receiving a payout if there was evidence of wrongdoing on his part.

"After two years of evidence, the court ... and mediator further acknowledged there was no untruth told," Textor said. "Obviously, we're pleased by the view of the court and the mediator."

The payouts will be made by Digital Domain's insurance policy.

Digital Domain shuttered its doors in late 2012, just nine months after moving into its studio in Tradition, leaving more than 300 employees jobless and the city deep in debt. The city last year sold the 115,000-square-foot building to Christ Fellowship church for $13 million. It still owes approximately $35.2 million on the project, which includes interest.