Two Duane Morris lawyers helped their client reclaim title to the Brickell property where Perricone's Marketplace once operated.

And they did it against a government defendant whose in-house counsel was able to churn out filing after filing in a hard-fought dispute with more than 200 docket entries.

Partner Scott Kravetz and associate Justin Stern argued the City of Miami reneged on a deal with their developer client and was only supposed to use that property as a public park—and not a money-making venture. But the city disagreed, arguing that the window had closed for the developer to raise a claim.

Duane Morris' client is commercial real estate developer The Allen Morris Co., which controls the named plaintiff 1000 Brickell Ltd.. It obtained summary judgment from Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Barbara Areces against Miami in a quiet title and declaratory judgment action.

The developer wanted to reclaim the prime real estate in the Brickell Financial District, where Perricone's had operated for years. It had allowed the city to use the land but only if Miami created a public park. It sought a determination that title had to revert to the plaintiff because Miami had allegedly broken that agreement.

Although The Allen Morris Co. allowed Perricone's restaurant limited use of the property, it alleged that a major expansion by the restaurant violated the restrictions in the original deed and the limited consent agreement the plaintiff had signed.

Plaintiffs counsel Kravetz said it was challenging to litigate against Miami and its in-house attorneys.

"In this case, they didn't have to go out and hire outside counsel," Kravetz said. "As a result, they just continued to churn the case in filing, after filing, after filing. They had the luxury of not having to spend money like private companies have to do when they litigate."

Eric Eves, an attorney for the City of Miami, did not respond to request for comment by press time.

City of Miami attorney Victoria Méndez said, "the City will be pursuing its appellate remedies in this matter."

In the summary judgment order, the court granted The Allen Morris Co.'s motion for summary judgment on the quiet title and declaratory judgment counts. But it declined to award the plaintiff monetary damages. Instead, it found the doctrine of sovereign immunity protected Miami since no written contract existed between the parties to entitle the plaintiff to recover monetary damages.

'The city has lost the property'

At issue was the limited-purpose provision in the deed granted to Miami in 1974 by 1000 Brickell Inc., the plaintiff's predecessor. The deed contained a restriction that the property was to be used only for public park purposes. If Miami violated that use restriction, then the warranty deed contained a reverter clause that came into play. The property could only be used as a public park, or title to the property would revert to the grantor, the Duane Morris attorneys argued.

In 1999, Miami and the plaintiff entered into a consent agreement. That agreement authorized Miami to enter into a revocable license agreement with Perricone's. The restaurant was allowed to use around 1,000-square-foot strip seating, food and beverage services "for the benefit of the general public," according to the court's summary judgment order.

When Miami allowed Perricone's to increase the size of the restaurant to 4,000 square feet on the public park area and refused to return the property to the grantor, the plaintiff sued Miami in 2014. Kravetz said Perricone's paid Miami a lump sum payment of $221,000 and had its monthly rent increased to $7,000. Previously, the monthly rent was $800.

Among the defenses Miami raised was Section 95.36 of the Florida Statutes, which terminates a dedicator's rights after 30 years. The plaintiff argued the statute did not apply, citing that the property was deeded with a restrictive covenant and reverter clause. The judge agreed with the plaintiff that the statute was inapplicable since it applied to a dedication, and the plaintiff was not challenging the deed itself, but only seeking to enforce the reverter clause.

"Perricone's has sold his property and restaurant to a hotel, so the restaurant is gone. He's opening a restaurant in another location," Kravetz said. "The city has shut down the park. It's fenced off. But the reality is from two days ago going forward, the city has lost the property and is now owned by Allen Morris."