Embattled Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo may yet keep his Coconut Grove home after a federal magistrate judge sided with his defense lawyers in a weekend court filing.
Carollo, who was ordered last June to pay $63.5 million to two Little Havana business owners who sued him for violating their First Amendment rights, has been fighting to keep his multimillion dollar property.
His creditors, William Fuller and Martin Pinilla, have sought the seizure and auction of Carollo's home to pay off his significant debt. But Carollo has claimed he is exempt from having his house taken because it is his established homestead — a contention Fuller and Pinilla have argued against.
Federal Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis filed a report on Saturday siding against Fuller and Pinilla's lawyers, recommending the court accept Carollo's homestead exemption from seizure.
READ MORE: Joe Carollo found liable: ordered to pay $63 million in federal 'harassment' case
"The objective evidence is sufficient to show Defendant’s intent to permanently reside at the Morris Lane Property as his homestead," Louis wrote, in part. "Thus, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs did not meet their burden to prove that Defendant left the Morris Lane Property with no intention of returning or that Defendant established a new permanent residence at another place."
“Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo and his family are thrilled that the federal court validated his Constitutional Homestead as a protection against the efforts of local businessmen to take away his only home,” said Carollo in a statement released late Saturday by his attorney Ben Kuehne. “The federal court flatly rejected the Plaintiffs’ attempt to rewrite new and unfounded exceptions to Florida’s Constitutional Homestead Protection, the very bedrock of Florida’s guarantee of home ownership.
Carollo moved back into his Coconut Grove property last April, just two months before the judgement against him was filed. He was previously living in an apartment in his commission district before the district map was changed to move a sliver of Coconut Grove that contains his house into his territory.
Judge Louis wrote that the evidence supports Carollo's homestead claim, in part because he never rented out the property while he was living elsewhere, and because he testified that he always intended to return once his term of office was over.
Fuller and Pinilla sued Carollo in 2018 after he engaged in what they called a "vendetta" against them when they supported his political opponent in a city election. They testified how Carollo used his government position to send code enforcement, police and fire department officials to harass their various businesses in Little Havana following the election. A federal jury in Broward found Carollo liable for violating the pair's First Amendment right to free speech, and ordered the commissioner to pay them upwards of $63 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Louis' recommendation will now go to federal Judge Rodney Smith, who handed down the judgement against Carollo last year. If Smith accepts her recommendation, then Carollo's house cannot be levied to pay off his debt. Both parties have 14 days to object to Louis' findings.
This marks a significant win for Carollo, who has fought tooth and nail to keep Fuller and Pinilla from taking any of his possessions including his home, which he says is his sole asset.
Wages
Carollo is separately arguing in court that his wages from the City of Miami should not be withheld to pay off his legal debt. Fuller and Pinilla have asked the court to garnish his wages, an annual salary of $58,200 with benefits totaling approximately $105,000. Carollo told the court this is his only income and he is the sole provider for his household, which includes himself, his wife Marjorie, and a Venezuelan family he claims to sponsor.
At an evidentiary hearing on July 26, Carollo testified that his wife is not currently employed and he pays for 100% of their combined bills with his commissioner's salary. If he proves to be his household's primary breadwinner, then his wages are exempt from being withheld.
The plaintiffs pressed the commissioner at the hearing about other sources of income he's entitled to that he is not taking advantage of. For instance, they said he could be receiving Social Security benefits because he is 69 years old, but Carollo testified that he is holding off on receiving them until he retires.
His opposition also argues that his wife, Marjorie, does in fact receive an income.
Marjorie has an active business called Fuller and Pinilla's attorneys told the court that records show the business had a balance of more than $34,000 as of last January. They requested additional bank records from MTC Group from 2022 to show that Carollo is not their sole provider.
Another evidentiary hearing is scheduled for August 2 to discuss Carollo's wages.
