David Beckham. Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock.com

Bruce Matheson, whose forebears helped settle Miami, isn't giving up on his fight over the sale of public land for David Beckham's soccer stadium — even though the retired star has shifted his sights to a different property.

Matheson, whose family over the years has donated land for public parks and the Miami Marine Stadium, has filed a petition with the Florida Supreme Court to challenge the land sale in Miami's Overtown neighborhood. Two lower courts sided with the county.

But Matheson contends County Commission approval in 2017 to sell 2.79 acres for $9 million to Beckham was illegal because it was done without a competitive process allowing others to bid on the property. He maintains state law requires competitive bidding for the sale of all public land.

The county maintains the sale was legal under an exception for economic development, according to Matheson's petition. A different state law allows counties to spend public funds to encourage economic development.

Miami-Dade Judge Rodolfo Ruiz dismissed the case in November 2017, finding Matheson didn't have the legal standing to challenge the sale.

The Third District Court of Appeal in October affirmed the trial court. The unanimous three-judge panel cited the economic development incentive.

But Matheson's Carlton Fields attorneys are asking the Supreme Court to accept jurisdiction as a matter of extreme public importance.

The Third DCA's decision “eviscerates” the state law calling for a fair and transparent public land sale, a mandate implemented to prevent corruption, said the petition filed by Carlton Fields Miami shareholder Richard Ovelmen.

Under the Third District's reasoning, any public land sale could qualify as economic development — essentially eliminating the competitive bid requirement altogether.

Matheson also argued the decision gives public agencies the power to decide whether to call for competitive bidding to sell public land, giving them carte blanche to circumvent state law.

He added the Overtown land deal is an example why it shouldn't be up to counties to decide whether to hold bids.

“The no-bid sale of county land here demonstrates precisely why the Legislature decided not to leave competitive bidding to counties' discretion — the county received no meaningful benefit in exchange for the well-below market sale of the property,” Matheson said in his Dec. 21 petition.

“If the county can avoid the competitive bid requirement by characterizing this sale as one for economic development, then any county will be able to do the same with virtually any sale of public land to a private developer,” the petition said.

The petition was filed against the county and 0101 Miami Properties LLC, the limited liability company used by Beckham in pursuit of the Overtown property.

The county on Thursday maintained it sold the land legally.

“We have done everything correctly, in accordance with state law,” Mayor Carlos Gimenez said in an emailed statement.

The Overtown acreage at 678, 684 and 690 NW Seventh St. and 566 NW Seventh Ave. north of the Miami River was targeted to supplement other land Beckham's group already purchased.

But Beckham and his investment team, which includes MasTec Inc. executive brothers Jorge and Jose Mas, have shifted their focus to the city-owned Melreese golf course east of Miami International Airport.

On Nov. 6, they got 60 percent city voter approval to lease the golf course for a 25,000-seat stadium, public soccer fields, tech-focused offices and a hotel.

Despite voter approval, this plan, too, has hit hurdles. Attorney Miami attorney Douglas Muir raised similar bidding issues in a lawsuit, and David Winker filed an ethics complaint accusing Beckham, the Mas and others of failing to register with the city clerk as lobbyists.

Matheson's Carlton Fields legal team didn't respond to a request for comment on the Supreme Court petition.

Carlton Fields shareholders Ovelmen and Enrique Arana in Miami, associate Scott Byers in Miami and shareholder Peter Webster in Tallahassee filed the petition.

Richard Perez, a Holland & Knight partner in Miami who has represented the Beckham group, didn't return a request for comment by deadline.

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