Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo may not lose his Coconut Grove home to satisfy a $63.5 million judgment against him, after a federal judge issued a report in his favor on Saturday. A final decision has not yet been made.
Carollo’s home is the current focal point in a years-long legal battle between the commissioner and two Little Havana businessmen, Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla, who have accused him of using city resources to harass them and their businesses. In June 2023, a jury awarded Fuller and Pinilla a $63.5 million judgment in a lawsuit based on these allegations. Entrepreneurs have been trying to raise funds for just over a year.
READ MORE: Who will pay Carollo’s $63.5 million judgment? Probably not Joe, who has no money
In several motions and objections, Carollo and his legal team have tried to protect the house from being seized. Carollo is trying to protect a two-story, 5,243-square-foot residence situated on a quarter-acre lot in Grove. He purchased the house in 2001.
Although the property was put up for auction in March, it was delayed after Carollo claimed his property was protected from seizure. Fuller and Pinilla objected, but on Saturday Carollo came closer to a legal victory on the matter when U.S. District Judge Lauren Louis recommended to U.S. District Court Judge Rodney Smith that Carollo can claim his home on Morris Lane is his property. , in accordance with the Florida Constitution. .
If Smith follows the recommendation, Carollo’s home will be protected from seizure under a state constitutional provision that does not allow people’s homes to be seized to pay for court judgments. The constitutional principle of homestead is different from the property tax exemption that can be claimed for owner-occupied homes.
Citing case law, Louis wrote that the Florida Supreme Court “has long emphasized that the homestead exemption must be interpreted liberally in the interest of protecting the family home.”
Louis’ report followed an evidentiary hearing in May and further analysis of the case. The final decision will come from Smith. Both sides have 14 days to contest Louis’ recommendation.
Carollo’s legal team defended Louis’ recommendation in a statement released Saturday.
“Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo and his family are thrilled that the federal court has validated their constitutional property as a safeguard against efforts by local business owners to take away their only home,” the statement read. “Through this successful decision, Commissioner Carollo validated the security and certainty of homeownership for all Floridians.”
The team went on to say that it hopes to appeal Fuller and Pinilla’s multimillion-dollar victory in the lawsuit, as their claims are “meritless.”
Carllo’s team formally appealed the decision earlier this year. The appeal is pending at US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
Legal advisors for Fuller and Pinilla immediately responded to the comments on Saturday.
The magistrate judge’s ruling comes a day after a hearing to determine whether Fuller and Pinilla can garnish the paychecks of the city of Carollo to satisfy part of the $63.5 million judgment. Louis took issue with what she called the “unusual” financial activity shown on Carollo’s bank statements.
The hearing is scheduled to continue Thursday, when the commissioner’s wife, Marjorie Carollo, is expected to testify.
