Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo is boasting of a big court victory, with a judge dismissing a complaint against him.
“I guess they think that they can keep suing the city for the same thing one more time, one more time, and get the same results, well, it is not going to be that way,” Carollo said inside his Miami field office Thursday afternoon.
Carollo is referring to Little Havana property owners Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla, who successfully sued the commissioner, accusing him of weaponizing city government, like code enforcement, and shutting down some of their restaurants and properties.
The businessmen supported Carollo’s political opponent.
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A federal jury found Carollo liable of violating their First Amendment rights and awarded them $63.5 million in damages.
In a separate court filing, Fuller and Pinilla sued a handful of city employees, like in the building department and code enforcement, claiming they are liable too because they worked with Carollo in targeting their properties.
“The court dismisses the entire complaint without prejudice to re-file with the requirement that each Plaintiff separate his or its own claims against each Defendant separately in a separate count,” U.S. District Court Judge Federico Moreno wrote in his order.
“There will be no 'grouping' of Defendants, but only claims against each individual defendant separately in each count,” says the order.
Carollo’s commission salary is being garnished and his home may be auctioned off with proceeds going toward paying down the $63 million judgment against Carollo.
The attorney representing Fuller and Pinilla isn’t alarmed by the dismissal.
“Judge Moreno's order simply asks us to provide additional information in a different format, a task that we are glad to accept,” said lawyer Jeff Gutchess. "Commissioner Carollo is not in a position to claim a temporary delay as a victory as he has already been held liable by a Federal Court for his retaliation against the plaintiffs.”
