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CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA
INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO. Honorable Mayor and Members DATE
of the City Commission
SUBJECT
FROM / �/ L REFERENCES
A. Ouinn Jones, III
City Attorney ENCLOSURES
V
March 28, 1992 FILEL-91-170
Cuban Museum of Arts and
Culture, Inc. vs. City
Case No. 91-0656-CIV-KING
(one)
The purpose of this memorandum is to clarify certain issues
relative to the dismissal of the above -referenced appeal and the
payment of attorney's fees and costs as ordered by the Federal
District Court.
In the month of December, 1991, meetings and/or discussions
were held by me and members of my staff with each of you
concerning the merits of the appeal. The only exception is that
we were unsuccessful after numerous attempts in scheduling a
meeting to discuss same with Commissioner Plummer.
Given the impending date of filing our initial brief on
January 11, 1992F it was deemed of utmost importance that a
decision be made relative to the appeal. You were advised that
in our judgment the District Court's opinion and the issue for
review was limited primarily to whether the Commission's
motivation in seeking to evict the Cuban Museum violated the Free
Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Based on the factual
findings of the Court, it was clear that the issue would not
withstand challenge on appeal where the standard of review was
one of "abuse of discretion" in the granting of the injunction.
Moreover, the Court noted in its decision that the City could do
whatever it wanted to with this property as long as it was done
on a nondiscriminatory basis. In this regard, you were advised
that the City should indeed make use of the property following
the applicable City Charter provision relative to disposition of
City -owned property.
It should also be noted that you were advised in an
August 19, 1991 memorandum (attached hereto) that the prevailing
party was awarded attorney's fees and costs which were
incorporated as part of the Court's Final Judgment, with
interest. After having expressed the futility of filing an
arguably frivolous appeal and the potential for the City being
assessed sanctions, the appeal was dismissed on January 10, 1992
with the payment of the judgment in the amount of $40,392.45. We
were also able to negotiate the waiver of costs and attorney's
J1SCJ5S pN
92- 244.1
Honorable Mayor and Members
of the City Commission
Re: Cuban Museum
March 28, 1992
Page 2
fees incurred on behalf of the Cuban Museum during the pendency
of this appeal.
Pursuant to Section 18-93 of the City of Miami Code, the
Self -Insurance and Insurance Trust is funded for the payment of
claims and judgments. The City has no discretion insofar as
payment of a final judgment. In contrast, Section 18-104
specifically provides for Commission approval of the settlement
of all claims for damages, including personal injury, property
damage, or both, in excess of $25,000.
Once a judgment has been entered by a Court, the long-
standing practice has been to notify Risk Management and request
payment of same, unless there is a basis for appeal wherein said
payment would be deferred pending the outcome of the appeal.
As a final note, the Commission was advised by the
administration at its regular meeting in February that a Request
for Proposals was being prepared. Vice Mayor Alonso requested
that the City Manager and myself report back to the Commission
once this process had been completed.
I trust that the foregoing addresses any concerns that each
of you may have relative to the events in question.
AQJ/rcl/Pll6
enclosure
cc: Cesar H. Odio
City Manager
92- 244-1
C;TY OF MIAA.11. F_ORipA
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
'0 Honorable Mayor and Members
of the City Commission
ge Ferman ez
Ci y Att rney
:'-` August 19, 1991 _t,-91-170
'== Cuban Museum of Arts and
Culture, Inc. vs. City
Case No. 91-0656-CIV-KING
Report No. 3
_NCLM.PES
CONFIDENTIAL: THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT SUBJECT TO
DISCLOSURE AS A PUBLIC RECORD UNTIL SO NOTIFIED TO T13E
CONTRARY BY THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. This document
was prepared by the City Attorney to reflect mental
impressions, conclusions, and litigation strategy in
pending civil litigation cases and administrative
proceedings involving CITY OF MIAMI vs. CUBAN MUSEUM OF
ARTS AND CULTURE, INC. (County Court, Case No. 91-06140
CC 05) and THE CUBAN MUSEUM OF ARTS AND CULTURE, INC.,
RAMON CERNUDA,. ALFREDO DURAN, AND SANTIAG0.14ORALES vs.
THIS CITY OF MIAMI (U.S. District Court, Case No. 91-
0656-CIV-RING). This document is exempt from Public
Records disclosure as an attorney work -product until
such time as all litigation and administrative
proceedings involving said parties have been concluded.
(Section 119.07(3)(o), Florida Statutes (1989)].
I am writing to advise you of the status of the above referenced
matter.
On August 9, 1991, the Court issued two orders: (1) an ORDER
GRANTING IN PART THE DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO ALTER OR AMEND- FINAL
ORDER GRANTING INJUNCTIVE RELIEF (attached), and (2) an ORDER
GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR ATTORNEY'S FEES AND COSTS
(attached).
Essentially, the court: (a) agreed with the City that the
Directors of the Museum were entitled to no reliefs (b) refused
to give any guidance to the City as to whether. it could sell,
rebid, or charge rent for the propertyy and (c) awarded
Plaintiffs' $37,877.50 in attorneys fees and $1,300.45 in costs.
Accordingly, the City's time to appeal is now running; the
deadline is September 8, 1991. ' We presently intend to file a
Notice of Appeal and pursue relief in the appellate courts unless
we are instructed by you to the contrary.
JLF/W8/ra/M897
attachments
92_ 244-1