Marlins backlash lives on: County commissioners balk at $4M settlement with Loria

Miami-Dade commissioners had a chance Tuesday to retire a legal battle with former Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria over the paper loss he claimed on the $1.2 billion sale of the team to Derek Jeter and partners.

Commissioners chose to keep the fight alive.

After a heated discussion, the board voted to delay voting on the proposed $4.2 million settlement of a 2018 lawsuit the county filed against Loria and the current Marlins ownership.

The fight is over the math behind a 5% profit-sharing deal Loria entered with Miami-Dade and Miami 12 years ago in exchange for the governments contributing about $500 million for a new ballpark and parking complex in Little Havana.

A loss on a $1.2 billion Marlins sale?

“This is nowhere near what we could get,” said Commissioner Joe Martinez, one of four commissioners who voted against the agreement in 2009. “The more your hear about it, the worse this deal was for Miami-Dade County. We were suckered.”

Miami joined the county suit as a plaintiff, and would get $563,000 from the settlement. City commissioners approved the agreement last week. The case only settles if Miami-Dade goes along, requiring a commission vote to accept the county’s $3.6 million share.

Commissioners voted to defer a decision shortly after one of the lawyers on the board, Sally Heyman, pointed out the settlement recommendation came from the administration of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and not from the County Attorney’s Office.

Heyman said the county shouldn’t accept the Loria assertion that a franchise he and partners purchased for $158 million somehow yielded a $141 million loss on a $1.2 billion sale, based on the profit-sharing formula laid out in the original 2009 deal. That deal allowed Loria a string of deductions that his accountants summarized in letters to the county. Heyman said she wanted to see the documents behind the numbers, and was happy to have Miami-Dade lawyers keep pressing for the evidence during arbitration.

“Just show us the information,” she said. “Today is an opportunity to finish strong for Miami-Dade County, and end this game fairly for all of the players ...Most especially, the taxpayers. I’m voting against the settlement.”

Tuesday’s meeting revived one of the sorest spots in county government. Chairman Jose “Pepe” Diaz seconded the original resolution that sealed Miami-Dade funding for the county-owned ballpark, with debt payments approaching $2 billion over several decades.

Though she had sponsored a resolution as a county commissioner directing any Marlins settlement to transportation projects, Levine Cava now recommends most of the Loria payment be set aside to cover shortfalls in hotel taxes ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic and which are used to pay the ballpark debt and fund cultural activities across the county.

Revisiting the ire from 2009 Miami Marlins deal

Heyman and Martinez are the only two commissioners who voted against the 2009 deal who are still sitting on the commission, which saw its first wave of term-limit departures in November. Diaz is one of three sitting commissioners who voted for the agreement, along with Rebeca Sosa and Javier Souto.

Monica Rizo, an assistant county attorney handling the Marlins suit, confirmed the settlement recommendation came from the Levine Cava administration. In comments to the commission, she suggested the county could end up with less money if Miami-Dade continued with arbitration with Loria and the existing Marlins organization, also a defendant in the case.

“This recommendation is coming from the administration,” she said. “In light of the contractual language that was approved... and the constraints that that language has,” she said, “we would say this settlement is within the bounds of reason. It’s up to this board as the ultimate decision-makers whether or not to accept it.”

Before she spoke, Heyman said she had to switch to the “appropriate mask for this one” and pulled out a face covering with the Edvard Munch painting known as “The Scream.” She said she wanted Miami-Dade lawyers to continue the fight.

“I’m asking for basic diligence,” she said. “You can’t play on a public field without playing by public rules.”

This story was originally published February 2, 2021 at 1:17 PM.