Miami Beach resolves lawsuit against ‘party house.’ Here are the settlement terms
Less than 24 hours after the city of Miami Beach sued the owner and tenant of a $6.5 million “party house” that owed over $500,000 in fines, the case was resolved Friday under a deal officials hope will permanently shut down the party.
Owner Stephen Kraus and tenant Scott Weissman will pay most of the money owed. Kraus will pay more than $387,000 to the city, while Weissman will cover approximately $66,000.
As part of the deal, Weissman, the CEO of non-fungible token (NFT) platform TokenSociety, will move out of the house when his seven-month lease expires June 15 — and won’t hold any more parties before then.
In addition, Weissman agreed never to live at the 1776 Bay Drive property again and to refrain from visiting for three years. He also accepted a ban on owning any property in Miami Beach for the next year and a three-year ban on hosting events at city residences.
“Our position is the case has been dismissed and the matter has been resolved,” said Gemma Torcivia, an attorney for Weissman.
For his part, Kraus, president of Kraus Hi-Tech Home Automation, agreed not to use the property for short-term rentals, an issue the city said came up repeatedly before Weissman moved in last November.
“The owner has sadly been victim to tenants that have been out of control,” Mickey Marrero, an attorney for Kraus, said in a statement. “He is thrilled to regain control of the property and take part in resolving issues with the city.”
The city also reached a settlement with an entity it said was posting short-term rental listings at the property, The Nightfall Group LLC. The company will pay the city a $250 fine.
The deal was struck ahead of a scheduled 10 a.m. court hearing Friday. The hearing was called off as Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Pedro P. Echarte, Jr., accepted the settlement.
“This is a victory for the law-abiding residents of Miami Beach who had to put up with endless parties and raucous behavior in this single-family neighborhood,” Miami Beach City Commissioner Alex Fernandez said in a statement.
READ MORE: Rap shows, cease-and-desist cakes and huge fines: City sues to shut down ‘party house’
Kraus bought the property in October 2020, paying a record price for a home in the Normandy Isles neighborhood, according to The Real Deal.
Since November, Weissman way paying roughly $84,000 per month to live there, the city said in its lawsuit.
Code officers have issued at least 45 violations at the property since February 2022, leading to $530,000 in fines.
Among the alleged offenses was a series of noise violations during one night in December when rapper Bobby Shmurda performed at the home, according to court filings.
At a May 20 party that led to another citation for loud music, Weissman appeared to celebrate his birthday with a cake that used an image of a cease-and-desist letter from the city as decorative frosting.
This story was originally published June 9, 2023 at 11:05 AM.
