MIAMI.- Joe Carollo, commissioner of District 3 of Miami, commented on the recent ruling by a federal judge that his home is legally protected from seizure requested by two business owners from Little Havana, to whom he must compensate $63.5 million after being found guilty in another federal trial of allegedly violating the First Amendment rights of those business owners.
Last year, a Broward jury voted in favor of plaintiffs William Fuller and Martin Pinilla in their lawsuit against Commissioner Carollo, who was found guilty of violating the First Amendment rights of both business owners, who allegedly suffered a long history of harassment by the commissioner. As a result, Carollo was ordered to pay $63.5 million in compensatory damages.
Fuller and Pinilla had therefore requested the seizure and auction of the commissioner’s house to pay the compensation ordered by the court.
Carollo, who lived in another rental property for seven years, always maintained that the house he owned could not be seized because it was protected by Florida law, something that federal judge Lauren Louise now agrees with him on.
“I would say that the judge did not rule in favor of me and my wife. It was primarily a ruling in favor of all homeowners in the state of Florida,” Carollo said at a press conference in his Miami office on Monday, July 29.
Otherwise, “anyone who has a debt, no matter how small or large, should be afraid that their house could be taken away from them.”
“The plaintiffs have the possibility of appealing the judge’s decision,” but Carollo is confident that he will win the appeal as well.
The commissioner took advantage of the media’s presence to say that he is appealing the order to pay 63.5 million dollars.
“We hope that by the beginning of the year the Federal Court of Appeals will hear the case and, just as I assured you that they could not take my house away from me, I assure you again that we will win the appeal.”
Article 10, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution prohibits the sale of homestead property to satisfy creditors’ claims.
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