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INCONPORAiER �
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CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI
South Miami
,l-ftedcaC i
2001
Some individual(s) has brought to your attention a landlord/tenant dispute involving my wife and I and
our landlord. While this is a personal matter, as public officials we must understand and accept the fact
that everything we do is subject to scrutiny. Therefore, I have placed this matter on your agenda for
transparency and for closure.
We entered into a 3.5 year lease in January 2009. The lease contains a quiet enjoyment clause which
means we have the right to enjoy the premises without unusual impairment. The landlord failed to notify
us that he would stop paying the mortgage immediately after the lease began. We found out about this
approximately three months into the lease. We have had hang tangs placed on our door by "workout
firms" and received threatening letters from the firm the landlord hired to force the bank to lower the
balance of the mortgage. After another few months of attempts to have the landlord impose a deadline on
his effort to force the bank to capitulate or to bring the mortgage current, it was clear that no progress had
been made. We informed him that if he did not resolve this problem by November 2009, three more
months, we would withhold the rent and pay the association dues as required by the lease. We offered to
place the difference between the rent and the association dues in escrow with his lawyer and he refused.
We offered to pay the bank directly and he refused. This is all documented by approximately 50 e- mails.
The landlord then filed an eviction procedure in County Court. We asked Mark Goldstein to represent us
in his private practice after communication with Larry Feingold. The mutual decision was reached that
Mr. Goldstein could represent us if we provided a Conflict Waiver. This means that we waived any
conflict Mr. Goldstein might have if he had to represent the City in his role as Assistant City Attorney in
an adverse action to me in the future. Further, everyone should understand that I have no supervisory
role regarding the City Attorney's Office or any function relative to Mr. Goldstein's compensation. It
was not until the Conflict Waiver was completed that any representation occurred.
The first eviction was rejected by the Court for a variety of reasons. Because we won the case, any
further eviction efforts under Florida law require that Mr. Goldstein's legal fees be paid by the landlord.
For that reason the Court rejected the second attempt to evict us since the landlord has not paid the fees.
Finally, we are up to date on the payment of the Association dues. However, we will not subsidize the
landlord's lifestyle while his bad debt to the bank continues to grow. The unit is now for sale and I
suspect we will work out this situation amicably with a new owner and the lender.
Page Two
Personal Matter
The Mayor and Members of the City Commission should be aware that after billions of dollars of public
financing over the past 32 years, hundreds of personnel actions some of which were very difficult, and,
many dispute resolutions with vendors, I have only been sued once personally. This was in my role as
Parking Director for the City of Miami when my Enforcement Officers issued 132 tickets to the owner of
a gargantuan Lincoln Continental Town Car who insisted on parking in two compact spaces because he
did not want his car dinged. His effort to bully me by suiting me personally failed and he paid a
significant negotiated settlement of the cost of the tickets and dropped the suit.
There you have it out in the open. If there are any questions or comments form the Members of the
Commission, I will answer those questions publicly on April 6, 2010.
END OF MEMORANDUM
My Documents /Resolutions -Memos