A convoluted legal fight is brewing over a portion of the land underneath the Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel in Miami Beach.
Sean and Nicole Mirmelli, as trustees for the Deirdre Mirmelli Irrevocable Trust, sued Chisholm Properties South Beach last week in Miami-Dade Circuit Court over alleged violations of a 99-year-ground lease for one of two parcels beneath the three-story, 186-key Art Deco building. The Mirmellis, who are siblings, want a court-appointed receiver to take over operation and management of the portion of the hotel site for which they have a joint 50 percent stake.
The sister and brother are seeking more than $20.5 million in damages, as well as a court order affirming cancellation of the ground lease and forcing Chisholm, led by Miami Beach hotelier Robert Balzebre, to cease operating the hotel, the lawsuit states. The complaint alleges Chisholm took out an unauthorized loan more than a decade ago without the Mirmellis’ consent.
“My clients grew up at the Surfcomber hotel,” Joseph Pardo, Mirmellis’ attorney, told The Real Deal. “Imagine you woke up one morning and learned that your neighbor put a mortgage on a property that’s been in your family for generations.”
In a joint statement, Chisholm’s attorneys Philippe Lieberman and Abbey Kaplan said the lawsuit has no merit.
“The Surfcomber hotel is a great property that fell into disrepair when operated by the Mirmelli family,” the statement said. “And has since been brought back to iconic status because of Chisholm’s great effort, hard work, and significant multimillion-dollar renovation that has enhanced the property.”
Since the mid-1990s, the Mirmellis have owned their 50 percent stake of a parcel at 1731 Collins Avenue that makes up half of the Surfcomber assemblage. Chisholm has owned the other 50 percent since 2004, records show.
Balzebre’s firm also owns the entire parcel at 1717 Collins Avenue that makes up the other half of the hotel site, as well as the building itself. Chisholm acquired both for $1.4 million, records show.
The Mirmellis, whose cousin Andrew Mirmelli is a prolific Miami Beach real estate investor, control the ground lease for the 1731 Collins Avenue lot that they co-own with Chisholm, records show. The lease was executed in 1948 by the original owners of the property when the hotel was built.
In 2011, Chisholm renovated the Surfcomber hotel and Kimpton took over management of the building. Three years later, Chisholm took out a $20.5 million loan with Bank of America secured by the hotel and both parcels.
In the lawsuit, the Mirmellis allege the mortgage was secured without their knowledge or consent, and that an estoppel letter attached to the loan with Nicole Mirmelli’s purported signature is a forgery. In an affidavit attached to the complaint, she denies signing the document and said that she had never seen it until recently. An estoppel letter is a document that verifies the current status of a lease agreement.
“Counsel for Chisholm provided the [estoppel] certificate that is referenced in the complaint,” Pardo said. “We did our homework and very quickly determined the certificate is not authentic.”
The Mirmellis learned about the loan while conducting their due diligence for a pending deal to sell their stake in 1731 Collins Avenue, the lawsuit states. The mortgage, which holds first position, has placed a cloud over the title to the parcel, the Mirmellis allege.