Developer Bill Fuller and two partners extracted a $12.5 million settlement from the city of Miami stemming from an allegedly politically motivated code enforcement crackdown against their Little Havana venues.
On Thursday, the Miami City Commission voted 4-1 to approve the deal with Mad Room Hospitality to end its pending three-year-old federal civil lawsuit against the city. The complaint alleged the Miami-based company suffered $27.9 million in damages after its businesses, Ball & Chain bar at 1513 Southwest Eighth Street, and Taquerias El Mexicano restaurant at 521 Southwest Eighth Street, were forced to close due to allegedly trumped up and unlawful code and building violations.
Mad Room is co-owned by Fuller and brothers Ben Bush and Zach Bush. Barlington Group, the Miami-based development firm co-founded by Fuller and Martin Pinilla, own the buildings and the land underneath Ball & Chain and Taquerias. Barlington and Pinilla are not parties in the Mad Room lawsuit.
Settling with Mad Room is the latest ding against Joe Carollo, the only commissioner to vote no on the settlement. Carollo has been feuding with Fuller and Pinilla since his election in 2017, when the duo backed his opponent.
During the city commission meeting, Carollo lashed out at Fuller and Pinilla as he had done in previous public hearings: “The history of these individuals was the history of violations, violations, violations, violations, not respecting our residents.”
Last year, a Fort Lauderdale federal jury found Carollo was personally liable for violating the rights of Fuller and Pinilla for allegedly orchestrating the city crackdown against Ball & Chain. Jurors hit Carollo with a $63.5 million verdict that subsequently led to a court order to garnish his city wages to partially satisfy the judgment.
Fuller and Pinilla are seeking that Carollo be forced to sell his Coconut Grove home to pay for part of the verdict. In July, a federal judge that is not presiding over the case recommended that Carollo be allowed to keep his home because the property is exempt from seizure under Florida law.
In a statement, a Miami spokesperson said the city admitted to no wrongdoing, but that if Mad Room had prevailed in court, it would have been entitled to recover attorney’s fees, which “could have far exceeded the settlement amount.”
“While the city firmly believes it has done nothing wrong, settling at this stage is a sound financial decision,” the statement said. “Continuing to litigate would also result in further costs for the city, and this settlement prevents those additional expenses.”
The $12.5 million will be divided into two payments of $9 million this year, and $3.2 million next year. Miami taxpayers are footing $8 million of the settlement, and the city’s insurer is responsible for the remainder, the statement said.