A Miami commissioner has successfully blocked the forced sale of his home by plaintiffs who won a $63.5 million damages award against the commissioner over First Amendment issues.
Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis handed down the decision overruling the forced sale of Commissioner Joe Carollo’s Morris Lane home on July 27 in the Southern District of Florida. Carollo claimed he was entitled to a homestead exemption to block such a sale, citing the Florida Constitution’s provision that permanent residences are exempt from such court-enforced sales.
“... The court concludes that plaintiffs did not meet their burden to prove that (the) defendant left the Morris Lane property with no intention of returning or that (the) defendant established a new permanent residence at another place,” the judge’s opinion states.
The decision comes in the wake of Little Havana real estate developers William Fuller and Martin Pinilla II winning a $63.5 million damages award against Carollo last year. The businessmen accused the commissioner of violating their First Amendment rights by having the city issue trumped-up code enforcement citations against their property after Fuller and Pinilla supported one of Carollo’s political opponents.
Carollo’s home was at one point in Commission District 2, and the commissioner leased an apartment in District 3 so that he could be a candidate in an election to represent that district, according to Louis’ decision. Later, after redistricting placed the home in District 3, Carollo moved back to the Morris Lane home a few days prior to the trial in the current case, the decision states.
The plaintiffs argued that Carollo “abandoned” the property and that his “fraudulent acts” as city commissioner should preclude him from being able to exempt the property under the homestead provision.
“Plaintiffs argue that, even if (the) defendant did not abandon the property, defendant’s egregious, bad-faith and fraudulent misconduct forfeits the protection of any claim of homestead,” Louis said in her opinion.
The court was unable to establish a connection between egregious conduct and funds possessed by Carollo by a preponderance of the evidence and thus was not entitled to a lien on the homestead.
In a statement emailed to the Florida Record by Benedict Kuehne, one of Carollo’s attorneys, the commissioner said he was thrilled that the court supported his homestead exemption to avoid losing his only home.
“Today Florida homeowners are safe in their homes with a federal magistrate judge ruling that Florida’s well-established constitutional homestead protection remains a vital guarantee against predatory creditors,” Carollo said last week. “... The federal court flatly rejected the plaintiffs’ attempt to rewrite new and unfounded exceptions to Florida’s constitutional homestead protection, the very bedrock of Florida’s guarantee of home ownership.”
The commissioner stressed that the ruling affirmed the validity and certainty of home ownership rights for all Floridians. In addition, Carollo expects to prevail in a federal appeals court challenge of other plaintiff claims in the case, according to the statement.
The plaintiffs are also calling on the court to order Carollo’s attorneys to produce all financial records available for his wife, Marjorie Carollo, who is the sole owner of a corporation, MTC Group. Inc.