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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-86-0145i 1 i J-85-1207 M85-1233 (12/19/85) RESOLUTION NO. s A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING THE SETTLEMENT STIPULATION ON BEHALF OF THE CITY IN U. S. DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA CASE NO. 84-2918-CIV-KING, THE LITIGATION FILED BY THE MIAMI HERALD PUBLISHING COMPANY AGAINST THE CITY OF MIAMI AND THEN MAYOR MAURICE A. FERRE AND CERTAIN AIDES OF THE MAYOR; FURTHER PROVIDING FOR THE PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY'S FEES IN SAID LITIGATION. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The City Commission hereby authorizes and approves the attached settlement stipulation on behalf of the City in U. S. District Court Southern District of Florida Case No. 84-2918-Civ-King, the litigation which was filed by the Miami Herald Publishing Company against the City of Miami and then Mayor Maurice A. Ferre and certain aides of the Mayor. The payment of attorney's fees in said litigation is hereby authorized in accordance with the provisions set forth in the attached settlement stipulation, with the amount of said fees being hereby allocated from the Self -Insurance Trust Fund. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 13th day of FEBRUARY 1986. ATT XAVIER L. SUAItZ, MAYOR MATTZ HIRAI, CITY CLERK PREP RED AN APPR VE B �L t R BERT F. CLARK CHIEF DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY APPROVED S TO FOR AND CORRECTNESS: M. LUCIA A. DOUGHERTY,77TY ATTORNEY RFC/rr/274 A Vlrr cUM.P4ISSION MEETING OF FEB 19 1W {ON nN' Q 6 . 14- REMARKS. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA CASE NO: 84-2918-Civ-king THE MIAMI HERALD PUBLISHING ) COMPANY, a division of Knight- Ridder Newspapers, Inc., ) a Florida corporation, and RICK HIRSCH, ) Plaintiffs, ) VS. ) MAURICE A. FERRE, individ- ually and as Mayor of the City of Miami, THE CITY OF ) MIAMI, a Florida municipal corporation, MARIE PETIT, ) NESTOR TOLEDO, and ALINA Defendants. ) STIPULATION The parties to this action request this Court to enter an Order approving the following Stipulation. i The parties believe it is in their respective best interests to resolve this controversy by establishing the following procedure for the future Orhereby all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings or other material, regardless of physical form or characteristics ("Records") can be requested and produced: 1. In entering into this Stipulation neither The Miami Herald Publishing Company, Rick Hirsch, Maurice Ferre, A&"-14:i The City of Miami nor any other party to this litigation concede that the opposing parties' legal or factual posi- tions are correct. 2. Pursuant to this stipulation, a future request to the City of Miami for Records as defined herein - above ("a Request") may be made orally or in writing. 3. In the event an oral Request is made and the custodian believes the Records are not Public Records, the custodian shall: (a) inform the person seeking the Records that the custodian believes the requested Records are not public Records and the reasons therefor; (b) take all steps necessary to retain the Records for a reasonable period of time to afford the person who requested the Records the opportunity to take any further appropriate action to determine whether the Records are Public Records or not Public Records in compliance with the present law; (c) in the event of any legal action com- menced under Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, the Records shall be preserved by the custodian during the entire course of the legal proceeding. 4. Except as otherwise provided herein, the parties understand and agree that the procedures set forth herein are in no way intended to abrogate or limit the rights and remedies of any person seeking access to Records available under Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, or the rights and defenses of any person who contests the public status of i Records requested. Nothing in this stipulation extends or modifies existing Florida law regarding Public Records. 5. The parties understand and agree that all issues relating to the award of attorneys' fees are to be resolved by the Court on proper application. In making any such award the Court shall award the total fees to which the party is entitled, but the party against whom the fees are awarded shall only be required to pay 50% of such award. 6. The parties agree not to seek attorneys' fees pursuant to § 57.105, Florida Statutes. 7. If the Court determines that Plaintiffs are entitled to attorneys' fees, the Court shall include in any such award reasonable fees incurred for both prosecution of plaintiffs' complaint and defense against defendants' counterclaims. a. If the Court determines that defendants are entitled to attorneys' fees, the Court shall include in any such award only reasonable fees incurred in connection with the defense against plaintiffs' complaint and not attorneys' fees incurred in connection with prosecution of defendants' counterclaim. 9. The parties specifically agree that this Stipulation of Settlement is subject to approval by the Miami City Commission and the Publisher of The Miami Herald Publishing Company within 75 days. 10. Upon such approvals, the procedure set forth in this Stipulation shall be promulgated as standard operat- ing procedure of The City of Miami. i 11. Upon such approvals, defendants Petit, Toledo and Novaro shall be dismissed with prejudice from this action, and such parties to bear their own fees and costs. Plaintiffs will not seek fees and costs from defendants Petit, Toledo and Novaro. 12. Subsequent to approvals as set forth in T9 above, the parties may petition the court for attorneys' fees and upon resolution of those motions, a judgment shall be entered in accordance with this stipulation. Miami City Attorney PAUL & BURT Attorney for all City Defendants Attorneys for Plaintiffs 196 East Flagler Street 100 S. Biscayne Boulevard Suite 1101 13th Floor Miami, Florida 33131 Miami, Florida 33131 BY By LUCIA ALLEN DOUGHERTY DAN PAUL BROAD & CASSEL ARKY, FREED, STEARNS, Attorneys for Maurice WATSON, GR.EER & WEAVER, P.A. Ferre, individually Attorneys for Plaintiffs One Biscayne Tower, 36th Floor One Biscayne Tower, 28th Floor Miami, Florida 33131 Miami, Florida 33131 BY By HAROLD BLUESTEIN BRUCE W. GREER General Counsel Miami Herald Publishing Company One Herald Plaza Miami, Florida 33101 WPL49G yy. By RICHARD OVELMEN Dated: September 19, 1985 1* IhiTER-C?1=F'l�. F i�1f_h9C;��hPJt:11.1P" Honorable Mayor and Members ofZey Commission Lougherty C ney January 8, 1986 Settlement of Litigation The Miami Herald Publishing Company, etc., et al., vs. Maurice A. Ferre, etc., the City of Miami, etc., et al. The City of Miami and former Mayor Maurice A. Ferre, as well as certain aides of the Mayor, were sued as a result of the then Mayor's destruction of his notes of private meetings he had attended regarding the discharge of then City Manager Howard V. Gary. At issue was the character of the notes and their status as public records, the disposition of such issue being the determinative factor on the question of the lawfulness of the record's destruction which occurred prior to receipt of a written request for their production. On September 19, 1985, all of the parties entered into a stipulation which was subject to approval by the City Commission. The proposed stipulation provided for no concession or agreement on the legal or factual questions raised in the course of the litigation and provided that opposing parties may request attorney's fees from each other. On December 19, 1985 you considered this original proposed stipulation and indicated your disapproval of this stipulation because of a provision in the stipulation which placed an added legal requirement on City of Miami Officials not to destroy, for two days, any material which was the subject of an oral request to examine. (Motion 85-1233.) In accordance with your above directions and instructions, a substitute stipulation has been negotiated which deletes the provision deemed offensive and not in accordance with the provisions of general law. The attached resolution incorporates the new substitute stipulation which provides that official will retain a public record which was requested orally for a reasonable time to allow the requestor to take appropriate action and further authorizes the payment of reasonable attorney's fees if such are awarded by the Court, said allocation of monies being made from the Self -Insurance Trust Fund. It is the recommendation of this Office that the attached resolution approving the substitute stipulation be adopted to settle this litigation on a reasonable basis. LAD/RFC/rr/014 cc: Cesar H. Odio, City Manager a86- ; .}.`.