Little Havana businessmen say they’re entitled to city’s $770K payout to Carollo
The city of Miami has delayed a scheduled vote approving a $770,000 settlement payout to former Commissioner Joe Carollo after plaintiffs in a separate lawsuit filed an emergency motion this week, arguing they’re entitled to those funds.
The Miami City Commission agreed on Thursday to push a vote approving a six-figure settlement that would resolve a decades-old pension dispute with Carollo to the next commission meeting on June 11.
In a 2006 complaint, Carollo argued that the city approved legislation in the early 2000s that “significantly reduced” his yearly pension benefit. He sought to recoup those funds, though the lawsuit remained dormant for years. Carollo — who has served intermittently as a commissioner and mayor since 1979 — left elected office in December, and in recent weeks, the city seemingly reached a resolution. The settlement requires commission approval.
Officials did not publicly state the reason for the deferral, but City Attorney George Wysong told the Miami Herald it was because of an emergency motion filed by the plaintiffs in a separate high-profile lawsuit on the eve of Thursday’s vote.
In 2023, a jury awarded Little Havana businessmen Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla $63.5 million after finding the pair were victims of a political retaliation campaign pushed by Carollo. To date, Fuller and Pinilla have not been able to collect on the $63.5 million judgment, with the courts ruling that Carollo’s wages are protected from garnishment and that his Coconut Grove home is protected from seizure.
The city recently said the proposed $770,000 payout wasn’t collectible because it was a pension benefit and therefore protected under Florida law.
But attorney Jeff Gutchess, who represents Fuller and Pinilla, argued in an emergency motion Wednesday that the settlement proceeds “are not a distribution from any pension fund, retirement trust, or qualified retirement plan. They are payment of a litigation settlement from the City of Miami’s general fund.”
“As such,” Gutchess continued, “the Settlement proceeds do not constitute ‘pension money’ or ‘retirement or profit-sharing benefits.’”
Gutchess is asking the court to block the city from disbursing funds, which he said “should be applied toward partial satisfaction of the Judgment.”
Wysong told the Herald the “prudent thing to do” would be to review the latest filings before taking a commission vote on the $770,000 payout.
But before a vote takes place, a closed-door meeting between commissioners and the city’s lawyers might also be in order.
At the end of Thursday’s meeting, Commissioner Rolando Escalona — who recently replaced Carollo as the District 3 commissioner — asked the city attorney to schedule an attorney-client session known as a “shade meeting” to discuss the issue.
Speaking to the Herald afterward, Escalona said he requested the shade meeting because he wanted updated information on various Carollo-related litigation, and to ultimately reach a resolution. Escalona noted that the city is paying for outside attorneys in multiple ongoing cases.
The city is the defendant in another lawsuit filed by Fuller and Pinilla. That lawsuit was filed in November 2023, but after the judge recused himself from the case earlier this year, the trial has been pushed to January.
“I just want to get everything done with past commissioners, and we’re talking about all lawsuits,” Escalona said. “Get it done, close that chapter, so we can finally move forward.”
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