A well-known Miami developer who lost a trial to another real estate giant five years ago lost again on his claim that a juror was bribed in their trial.

Craig Robins, a force behind Miami's high-end Design District, and Ugo Colombo, whose latest luxury condominium to grace the city skyline is Brickell Flatiron, have been locked in a decadelong legal fight over a jet they co-owned.

Among the many accusations they have hurled at each other was Robins' Dacra Development Corp.'s claim that Colombo or an associate bribed a juror in a 2014 trial that ended in Colombo's favor. Dacra sued Colombo over the corrupt jury claim in Miami-Dade Circuit Court last December.

Judge Michael Hanzman concluded no "shred of evidence" was provided that Colombo and the juror or their representatives communicated during or after the trial.

"The bottom line is that plaintiff's claim is not only bereft of evidence but also completely implausible," Hanzman wrote in his Nov. 21 final judgment entered after a three-day bench trial.

"Over the years this court has struggled with many challenging and difficult cases. This is not one of them, as plaintiffs have abjectly failed to present any credible evidence supporting this bankrupt claim, let alone the type of 'clear and convincing proof' needed to 'convince' the court, 'without hesitation,' that Colombo bribed (or attempted to bribe) this juror," Hanzman wrote in his judgment.

Dacra's suit claimed Colombo's side bribed juror Roderick Brooks with cash and a $1 million unit in one of Colombo's luxury condo towers.

Hanzman denied Dacra's request in the suit to vacate two judgments issued after the 2014 trial requiring Dacra to pay about $3 million to Colombo and his affiliated companies.

In response to the latest judgment, Dacra's attorney Dennis Richard noted the court found "credible evidence" Brooks talked with his sister about a bribe. But the court determined Brooks fabricated the story.

"The court found that there was credible evidence, which the court believed, that the juror, a twice convicted felon, had admitted that he traded his verdict for a promised condominium. However, the court also found that the juror made up the bribery scheme," said Richard of Richard and Richard in Miami.

In unrelated cases, Brooks pleaded guilty to obtaining a bank loan with an inflated income statement and conspiring to commit theft against the U.S., according to the judgment.

Attempts to reach Brooks at eight telephone numbers were unsuccessful.

Hanzman's judgment was welcomed by Colombo's attorneys.

"Obviously the court fully recognized that Mr. Robins' complaint was baseless and malicious," said Jesse Dean-Kluger, a Miami solo practitioner.

Dacra filed the juror-bribery claim after Robins was exposed to a punitive damages claim by Colombo in a separate suit over the jet, Dean-Kluger said.

In that case, the Third District Court of Appeal in August 2018 affirmed Colombo's punitive damages claim.

"This was a desperate, obstructive attempt to avoid the ruling of the Third DCA and the Florida Supreme Court, which confirmed that Mr. Robins must be punished for his conduct. It is no coincidence that within days of losing his Hail Mary appeal to the Supreme Court that this lawsuit was drummed up and filed," Dean-Kluger said.

Cole, Scott & Kissane partner Thomas Scott and associate Daryl Greenberg as well as Coffey Burlington partner Jeffrey Crockett represented Colombo in the trial. Dean-Kluger was counsel of record.

Young Berman Karpf Gonzalez senior partner Andrew Berman and Jones Walker partner Edward Shohat represented Robins at trial. The late Andrew Hall, a Hall, Lamb, Hall & Leto managing member, also was on the case. He died in September.

Richard said it's too early to say if an appeal would be filed.

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'Piece of Hearsay' 

Given the seriousness of the bribery claim, the court allowed Dacra's attorneys liberal access to documents, including Colombo's and Brooks' phone records and Brooks' financial records, Hanzman said in his judgment. They offered no evidence of contacts or financial transfers.

Hanzman concluded the bribery claim hinged on a "single piece of hearsay testimony."

Brooks' sister, Alesia Diggs, testified that in about September 2017 her brother called her to say he had been a juror at the trial and was approached by a man offering a condo "if he guaranteed that he would win the verdict," the judge wrote to summarize the claim.

Diggs testified her brother offered to bring her and other siblings into his reward if she arranged for him to get $40,000 from their late mother's estate, according to the judgment.

Hanzman believed Diggs' testimony but concluded Brooks was angling for family money and hoped his siblings "might be gullible enough to release the funds in exchange for a 'piece of the deal.' "

Brooks denied his sister's testimony, saying she was only trying to gain ground on him in family disputes, according to the judgment.

" The court is certain that if he had in fact participated in a bribery scheme with Colombo, Brooks would never have admitted it to Alesia — a sibling who disliked him and was his adversary in acrimonious family litigation," Hanzman said.

Attempts to reach Diggs through Facebook and at two phone numbers weren't successful.

Hanzman said Colombo would have had too much to lose and too little to gain by bribing a juror.

If Colombo lost the trial, he could have "painlessly" satisfied an adverse judgment, the judge concluded. On the other hand, Colombo would have risked his reputation, family's well-being and liberty by bribing a juror.

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The Jet

Colombo and Robins were united in a 2007 agreement splitting ownership interest in UC Challenger LLC, which bought a $22 million Bombardier Challenger. Colombo owned his half through CMC Group Inc., and Robins owned his through Dacra affiliate CL36 Leasing LLC.

They agreed to split fixed costs and pay for personal use of the twin-engine business jet, according to court records. They also split an $18.5 million Bank of America loan for the aircraft.

In one of the first suits filed about three years after the agreement, Dacra alleged malicious prosecution by Colombo and CMC Group. Dacra accused Colombo of prompting their jet management company, Turnberry Management III Inc., to sue Dacra for payments that Dacra said it didn't owe.

Colombo countersued Dacra alleging unjust enrichment and breaching of jet co-ownership agreements.

A separate suit in which Colombo sought punitive damages is still pending. It started with Bank of America suing Colombo and UC Challenger in 2013, claiming a default on the loan and an interest-rate swap agreement, Colombo argued in court. He turned around and sued Robins, who then countersued.

Hanzman urged the developers to set aside their differences.

"But if they want to continue to waste their time and money, and enrich their counsel, so be it. People have a constitutional right of 'access to courts' — a right both Robins and Colombo have clearly 'over-exercised,' " the judge wrote "While the court has no ability to end that war, it can (and will) bring this particular battle 'in for a landing.' "

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