HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemorandumCITY OF MIAMI
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Victoria Mendez, City Attorney
DATE: February 8, 2024 ('J
RE: Attorney -Client Session scheduled for 10:00 a.m. regarding the matters of
GRACE, Inc.; Engage Miami, Inc; South Dade Branch of the NAACP;
Miami -Dade Branch of the NAACP; Clarice Cooper; Jared Johnson;
Yanelis Valdes; and Alexandra Contreras vs. City of Miami, Case No.
1:22-CV-24066-KMM, pending in the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Florida, City of Miami v. GRACE, Inc.; Engage Miami,
Inc; South Dade Branch of the NAACP; Miami -Dade Branch of the
NAACP; Clarice Cooper; Jared Johnson; Yanelis Valdes; and Alexandra
Contreras, Case No. 23-12472, pending in the United States Court of
Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and American Civil Liberties, Union of
Florida, Inc. vs. City of Miami, Case No. 2023-023038-CA-01, currently
pending in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for
Miami -Dade County, Florida, to which the City is presently a party.
File No.: 15491
Pursuant to my request to the City Commission at the meeting of January 25,
2024, the below -listed Attorney -Client Session is scheduled for the February 8, 2024
City Commission Meeting at 10:00 a.m.
"Under the parameters of Section 286.011(8), Florida Statutes, a private
attorney -client session will be conducted at the February 8, 2024 Miami City
Commission meeting. the person chairing the City Commission meeting will announce
the commencement of an attorney -client session, closed to the public, for purposes of
discussing the pending litigation in the matters of GRACE, Inc.; Engage Miami, Inc;
South Dade Branch of the NAACP; Miami -Dade Branch of the NAACP; Clarice Cooper;
Jared Johnson; Yanelis Valdes; and Alexandra Contreras vs. City of Miami, Case No.
1:22-CV-24066-KMM, pending in the United States District Court for the Southern
District of Florida, City of Miami v. GRACE, Inc.; Engage Miami, Inc; South Dade
Branch of the NAACP; Miami -Dade Branch of the NAACP; Clarice Cooper; Jared
Johnson; Yanelis Valdes; and Alexandra Contreras, Case No. 23-12472, pending in the
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and American Civil Liberties,
Union of Florida, Inc. vs. City of Miami, Case No. 2023-023038-CA-01, currently
pending in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami -Dade
County, Florida, to which the City is presently a party. The subject of the meeting will be
confined to settlement negotiations or strategy sessions related to litigation
expenditures. this private meeting will begin at approximately 10:00 a.m. (or as soon
thereafter as the commissioners' schedules permit) and conclude approximately one
hour later. The session will be attended by the members of the city commission, which
include the Chair Christine King, Vice -Chairman Joe Carollo, Commissioners Miguel
Angel Gabela, Manolo Reyes, and Damian Pardo; the City Manager, Arthur Noriega, V;
the City Attorney, Victoria Mendez; Chief Deputy City Attorney John A. Greco; Deputy
City Attorneys George K. Wysong III, and Kevin R. Jones; outside counsel Christopher
N. Johnson and George T. Levesque. A certified court reporter will be present to ensure
that the session is fully transcribed and the transcript will be made public upon the
conclusion of the above -cited, ongoing litigation. At the conclusion of the attorney -client
session, the regular City Commission meeting will be reopened and the person
presiding over the City Commission meeting will announce the termination of the
attorney -client session."
cc: Art Noriega, V, City Manager
Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk
Miriam Santana, Agenda Coordinator
VM/JAG/GKW
ndez, City Httor
ey 1/30/2024