Surf Club suit against Bilzin Sumberg proceeds

A Miami-Dade circuit court judge allowed the Surf Club equity members’ legal malpractice suit to continue, but a plaintiffs attorney predicted the litigation would end in “ultimate doom.”

Members of the Surfside club at 9011 Collins Ave. claimed in an amended lawsuit filed in June that they lost $50 million by following bad legal advice by prominent South Florida firm Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod and Stanley Price, chair of its government relations and land development practice, on how to reduce the club’s property taxes, the Daily Business Review reported.

The club, which once hosted Winston Churchill, was sold last December for $108 million to a group of investors led by the Turkish conglomerate Koc Group.

Miami attorney Robert Zarco, who represents the Surf Club, called the judge’s decision “a nice green light,” but worried the case could be thrown out on a legal technicality.

“I’m a little concerned about the track that the court at the behest of counsel is setting this up in a way for ultimate doom,” Zarco told the Review.

Attorney Harley Tropin, who represents Bilzin Sumberg, said he was pleased with Bailey’s decision and expects the lawsuit to be dismissed on summary judgment. [Daily Business Review] — Emily Schmall