Ex-Miami city attorney Victoria Mendez can face fraud lawsuit, court rules
TALLAHASSEE — An appeals court Wednesday rejected a request by a former Miami city attorney to dismiss a civil lawsuit alleging she took part in a conspiracy to commit fraud in a property deal.
A three-judge panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal said sovereign immunity does not shield Victoria Mendez from the lawsuit filed by Jose R. Alvarez.
The lawsuit alleges that Alvarez contacted the then-city attorney after he inherited a home from his mother, who had died. The home had received a code violation and was subject to more than $271,000 in past fines and penalties, according to Wednesday's ruling.
Alvarez contacted Mendez to address the violations, and she allegedly referred Alvarez to her husband, Carlos Morales, who had the company Express Homes.
The lawsuit alleges that Morales made misrepresentations to induce Alvarez to sell the home to Morales, who later resold the home at a profit, according to Wednesday's ruling.
Sovereign immunity generally shields government agencies and officials from liability related to their duties. A circuit judge dismissed Mendez's motion to dismiss the case because of sovereign immunity, and the appeals court upheld that decision.
The appeals court ruling, written by Judge Norma Lindsey and joined by Chief Judge Thomas Logue and Judge Fleur Lobree, said that under state law, "Mendez may be held personally liable if she 'acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose or in a manner exhibiting wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property.'"
Morales and Express Homes also are defendants in the case, the appeals court said. Meanwhile, the appeals court ordered dismissal of allegations by Alvarez against the city. It said he did not comply with a pre-suit notice requirement that is part of sovereign-immunity law.