Miami Considers Suing Nonprofit, Others While in Talks for Beckham Soccer Stadium
The City Commission might consider a draft complaint that seeks to push out groups at the city-owned golf course where the stadium is planned.
April 19, 2019 at 12:52 PM
6 minute read
Miami is considering suing to push out a youth golf nonprofit and other groups possibly at the city-owned Melreese golf course where David Beckham's soccer stadium is planned.
The city has taken issue with groups using the Melreese address in their state registration papers and some being located on and using the city-owned property, according to a resolution coming up for a City Commission vote.
Miami officials are to consider suing the city-hired golf course manager for breaching its agreement as well as The First Tee Miami and other groups it claims are illegally using the golf course property or address in state documents.
The commission is set to vote Thursday on a resolution directing staff members to take action to stop the allegedly improper use of its property and specifically Melreese. The resolution includes a draft complaint against golf course manager Delucca Enterprises Inc., Dade Amateur Golf Association Inc. and 13 other groups.
Florida Division of Corporations documents show Dade Amateur Golf Association is an affiliate of The First Tee, and the nonprofit's website says it's part of the Dade Amateur Golf Association.
Mayor Francis Suarez, the resolution's sponsor, didn't return a request for comment by deadline. The city attorney's office also didn't return a request for comment.
“None of these business entities had or have a legal right to use that address or those premises,” the draft complaint said. “As a matter of law these business entities must be ejected from the premises.”
The complaint lists ejection and unjust enrichment counts against all defendants except Delucca.
The complaint also lists accounting and breach of contract counts against Delucca, saying it should estimate how much the groups owe the city for their use of the site. The city maintains Delucca broke its agreement with the city by allowing others to use the golf course.
The 160-acre International Links Melreese Country Club east of Miami International Airport is to be redeveloped as Beckham's Major League Soccer site with a 25,000-seat stadium, more than 1 million square feet of office and retail, a 750-room hotel, and 23 acres of youth soccer fields.
Voters last November green-lighted negotiations for a 99-year lease for more than $3.5 million in annual rent.
But even before the referendum the city already had started inquiring about First Tee and the other organizations.
A letter sent last year from Delucca's attorney to the city indicates that Miami Department of Real Estate Asset Management Director Daniel Rotenberg had sent an email requesting corporate registration documents for the Melreese groups on July 17, 2018. That's a day before the commission voted in favor of putting the stadium lease to a referendum.
In response to that inquiry, Delucca attorney Thomas Korge, of Korge & Korge in Coral Gables, on July 26 sent a letter to the city with details about nine organizations. Rotenberg on Aug. 6 replied calling Korge's explanation of the entities associated with Melreese “very brief” and asking him to provide information on additional organizations the city has linked to the golf course. Then, at Korge's request in an Aug. 14 letter, his correspondence gets redirected to the city attorney's office.
In a Sept. 16 letter from Korge to City Attorney Daniel Diaz, Korge maintains he is the attorney only for Delucca and provides information about groups the city has tied to Melreese and inquired about. This time, Korge provides information on about 20 groups. Not all of the companies he lists are named defendants in the draft complaint and, according to Korge's letter, only some of them have actual operations on Melreese.
Dade Amateur Golf Association is a First Tee affiliate and operates the youth educational activities at Melreese. It's tied to golf course manager Delucca Enterprises, which is headed by Charles DeLucca. Charles DeLucca Jr. is president and executive director and Charles DeLucca III is executive director of First Tee.
Some of the other organizations also are tied to DeLucca but not all, according to Korge's letter. Bunkers Inc. is owned by DeLucca but it's largely inactive except for having sold golf balls to Melreese for re-sale at the pro shop at a profit to the city; Tina's Touch Inc. was organized by DeLucca for his daughter, Tina, for a consultancy business in Palm Beach County but it's never had activities at Melreese; and custom golf clubs fitter JJ Custom Golf LLC isn't associated with DeLucca and uses some space at Melreese in exchange for $1,250 a month, according to Korge's letter. Bukners, Tina's Touch and JJ Custom Golf are listed as defendants.
Some of the other organizations the city inquired about are inactive and already have been dissolved, Korge says in the letter.
Korge also says that already there is solid record-keeping and accounting for revenue generated from activities at the golf course, that Delucca weekly provides the city with receipts and that a 2017 city auditor's report already has addressed at least some of the city's questions.
An annual charity golf tournament First Tee holds at Melreese is self-sustaining, meaning the proceeds cover its expenses, and it also pays Melreese fees, including fees for using the greens, Korge said in his letter.
“Indeed, charitable tournaments constitute a substantial additional source of net revenues for the Melreese operations,” Korge wrote in the letter.
Korge on Friday responded to a Daily Business Review request for comment by pointing out that he already has addressed Miami's concerns in his previous letters. He said there have been indications that the resolution might be pulled from Thursday's meeting to allow for further talks.
First Tee teaches golf to youths and students with disabilities and offers other programs, including after-school tutoring, academic advising and the Charles De Lucca School of Golf summer camp.
While Beckham and his team of investors, including brothers and MasTec executives Jorge and Jose Mas, have city backing for their venture, the project also has its opponents.
Miami attorney David Winker has two pending complaints against the city. An ethics complaint alleging illegal lobbying was dismissed last month by the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission.
Related stories:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllFowler White Burnett Opens Jacksonville Office Focused on Transportation Practice
3 minute readHow Much Coverage Do You Really Have? Valuation and Loss Settlement Provisions in Commercial Property Policies
10 minute readThe Importance of 'Speaking Up' Regarding Lease Renewal Deadlines for Commercial Tenants and Landlords
6 minute readMeet the Attorneys—and Little Known Law—Behind $20M Miami Dispute
Trending Stories
- 1Call for Nominations: Elite Trial Lawyers 2025
- 2Senate Judiciary Dems Release Report on Supreme Court Ethics
- 3Senate Confirms Last 2 of Biden's California Judicial Nominees
- 4Morrison & Foerster Doles Out Year-End and Special Bonuses, Raises Base Compensation for Associates
- 5Tom Girardi to Surrender to Federal Authorities on Jan. 7
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250