Lawsuit dismissed, Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo claims victory for residents
MIAMI - A judge dismissed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the City of Miami, Commissioner Joe Carollo, and other high-ranking city staffers, alleging they violated two Little Havana businessmen's First Amendment rights and weaponized city government against them.
The fight, though, is far from over. Essentially, the judge punted the complaint back to the businessmen for the second time, asking for more specifics about what civil rights each defendant violated and their actions.
CBS News Miami's Joe Gorchow asked Commissioner Carollo, "Why does it sound like you feel there's a victory here today?"
"It's a big victory because it's showing what they're doing," said Carollo. "Showing for the second time, a judge has thrown out their complaint because they're not following the law. Basically, they can't put the reasons why they're suing all of us."
Gorchow then responded to Carollo, stating, "It doesn't necessarily mean that the dismissal will ultimately stand and that this complaint could be accepted."
"Well, I know that you know, your heart is broken for them," said Carollo. "When you're done, you could go and have a drink at me and Ball and Chain and, you know, cry with them."
William Fuller and Martin Pinilla operate Ball and Chain and a string of other businesses in Little Havana.
Last year, they won their suit against Carollo when a jury found him liable for orchestrating a vendetta against the Miami businessmen.
In June, a jury ordered Carollo to pay them more than $63 million, putting Carollo on the defensive trying to save his Coconut Grove home from being seized to pay off that legal judgment last year.
"Very similar, frankly," shared Carollo. "It was a repeat of my case again."
The findings revealed in the case decided last June spurred the latest complaint, alleging the city, Carollo serving in his capacity as a commissioner, and other high-profile city staffers, violated First Amendment rights and weaponized the city government against Fuller and Pinilla.
Gorchow asked Carollo, "Isn't this lawsuit based on the outcome of the one against you personally? Using evidence from the case against you, against city employees..."
Carollo interrupted, saying, "No," several times.
In the dismissal, the judge acknowledged the defendant's objections, but their objections "cannot be ruled upon until a proper complaint is filed."
Fuller and Pinilla's attorney sent CBS News Miami a statement about this latest complaint's second dismissal, saying, "It is common in trial practice to have multiple amended complaints." Going on to say, 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."
"If they come back and do the same thing that they've done in the first lawsuit, the second lawsuit, that it will be dismissed with prejudice," said Carollo.
The plaintiffs have until Friday, April 19th, to file their second amended complaint.
Carollo invited us to tour the city to explain the code violations assessed on Fuller and Pinilla's businesses. We accepted and are working on arranging a date and time.
Read the order dismissing the complaint:
Order dismissing complaint by Mauricio Maldonado on Scribd
