The Town of Miami Lakes has offered to provide legal representation to former Building Official Mike Mesa, as he faces a civil lawsuit filed against him by a homeowner.
Carlos Perez Jr., who owns a home in the 14400 block of Rosewood Road, is alleging gross negligence and tortious interference with contractual relations by Mesa. Perez Jr. filed the case Dec. 21 in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade County, seeking a jury trial and damages.
Further complicating matters: The attorney representing Mesa is a former mayor of Miami Lakes who has a separate, ongoing multi-million dollar lawsuit of his own against the town.
“There is no question in my mind that Mr. Mesa is going to prevail in this case and get this thrown out,” said Michael Pizzi, the former mayor and Mesa’s attorney.
The town is not a target of Perez Jr.’s lawsuit. Mesa resigned in June 2021 and has since been hired as chief building official by the Town of Bay Harbor Islands.
Perez Jr., in his lawsuit, says the case “is about abuse of power.”
THE BEGINNING
Carlos Perez Sr., a developer, bought the home for his son in October 2019 for $440,000.
The town approved some permits including for work on the roof, Perez Jr.’s lawsuit states. In April 2020, according to a timeline Mesa provided to Town Manager Edward Pidermann, the building department discovered other work was being done without permits. A stop work order was issued.
Perez Sr. contacted Mayor Manny Cid to try and arrange a meeting with Mesa. The lawsuit states that Mesa refused.
Mesa wanted Perez Sr. to provide an engineer’s lab report with X-ray photos to determine if all the finished work that concealed steel supports for the structure complied with building codes.
Perez Sr. said that already completed sonar scans of the work were sufficient, rather than opening freshly built walls and taking X-rays, which would have been pricier.
In May 2020, emails written by then-Councilman Jeffrey Rodriguez and Councilman Joshua Dieguez showed their efforts to resolve the situation between Mesa and Perez Sr.
Rodriguez wrote to Pidermann that the town should suggest the owner use a “private provider” who would certify the job was completed and complied with codes, which would take responsibility away from Mesa.
Pidermann replied that private providers need to be approved in advance of a project. When certifications are done after a job is completed without permits, the building official would still be liable.
Dieguez asked Pidermann to have Mesa call Perez Sr. “to clear the air” and said the developer was expecting a call on a certain date.
COMMITTEE FORMED
On March 9, 2021, the town council established a temporary ad hoc committee of building trade professionals to review processes of the building department and make recommendations to the council, a plan suggested by Rodriguez.
Then-Vice Mayor Luis Collazo and Councilwoman Marilyn Ruano voted against forming the committee.
Collazo said at that time the committee was going to overly politicize the issue and would undermine the authority of Mesa and Pidermann.
In May 2021, Perez Sr. took his case to the county Board of Rules and Appeals, which decided in his favor, said permits should be issued and that Mesa should accept sonar findings.
On June 11, 2021, Mesa and Building Department Manager Lourdes Rodriguez resigned. Mesa wouldn’t comment then; in her resignation letter Rodriguez said leaving was not an easy decision “but current circumstances have swayed me.”
Rodriguez became building administrator in Bal Harbour Village.
Mesa said Jan. 13 through his lawyer that he and his team would not have left town employment “… if not for Mr. Perez, Jr. and his associates’ efforts to undermine the integrity of the building department.”
Pizzi told The Miami Laker that he and Mesa had not decided whether to accept the town’s offer of legal representation by the Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman law firm. The town’s insurance would pay for those legal bills, town Attorney Raul Gastesi told the council on Jan. 11.
“I believe that [Perez Jr.] does not have a cause of action and I believe that eventually Mr. Mesa will prevail,” Gastesi told the council that night. “It’s just that simple. He was well within his rights to make certain decisions.
“Because you make a decision that the Board of Rules and Appeals or another court disagrees with, does not mean you were acting in bad faith,” Gastesi added.
Gastesi also commented about some councilmembers getting involved in the situation.
“We are here to serve the citizens of Miami Lakes and we are here to meet any number of residents,” Gastesi said. “Lawyers call us, lobbyists call, we try to reach an accommodation.
“Those types of meetings occurred and I encourage you and will assure you those kinds of meetings will occur in the future,” he said.
“… We as a town, and none of the officials sitting on this dais, did anything wrong or did anything to trigger any sort of a lawsuit,” Gastesi said.
Rodriguez, an attorney whose practice includes residential and commercial real estate, told The Miami Laker, “At no point did I try to influence Mike Mesa. Do I agree with the [Board of Rules and Appeals’] decision? Absolutely.”
He also said, “State law allows the council to look at customs and policies and procedures of the building department from a customer service standpoint. Not from a construction determination perspective. ... I feel like we were doing our jobs, absolutely,” Rodriguez said.
He echoed comments Cid made to The Miami Herald, which first reported the lawsuit on Jan. 11.
Dieguez said his email spoke for itself, “…that I relayed exactly what I was told and asked.” He declined further comment in case there is additional litigation.
THE PIZZI FACTOR
Pizzi said in an email that he has advised the town that Mesa is “exploring any potential claim.”
During the council meeting, Rodriguez wanted assurance that the town would not be paying for Mesa’s legal bills.
“If he does not use the attorneys that you and the manager selected, then the town will not pay his legal bills for this defense?” Rodriguez asked.
Gastesi responded: “That will be my recommendation to this council.”
Rodriguez continued: “That would be my preference. I would not want us to pay Michael Pizzi for representation of Mr. Mesa.”
While Pizzi was mayor of Miami Lakes, the FBI arrested him in 2013 in a sting, and then-Gov. Rick Scott suspended him from office.
After a federal jury found in 2014 that Pizzi was not guilty of conspiracy to commit extortion and taking bribes, he sued the town to have it pay more than $2.5 million in legal fees. That lawsuit is ongoing.
THE BUILDING DEPT.
Things have calmed down in the building department according to Rodriguez, who was elected vice mayor by the council in November 2021.
In June 2021, Pidermann split leadership responsibilities into two positions. He promoted two staffers: Daniel Angel became director of the building department and oversees administration and operations, including building, zoning and code enforcement. Angel Rivas was promoted from chief building inspector to building official but he resigned within the month.
Richard Annese, former building official in the Village of Virginia Gardens and senior building official in North Miami Beach, became the town’s building official in November.
Annese has final authority on building code approvals, plan reviews and inspections.
“It’s a shame the department had not been bifurcated before [Mike Mesa] left,” Rodriguez said.
“Danny Angel fields resident and contractor calls and Richard can deal with the practical code enforcement, and it makes sense and has worked out very well.”
Rodriguez also said Pidermann deserves “kudos” for dividing responsibilities between two officials and that it has led to fewer residents’ complaints.
MESA RESPONDS
On Jan. 5, Mesa asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit. He cited the collapse of a high-rise in Surfside, Florida last year as an example of why building officials must vigorously uphold building codes with an eye on safety.
“As the entire nation learned from the tragic events of the Champlain Towers building collapse, if Building Officials do not uphold the building code and do their jobs, people die. It is a crime under Florida law for anyone to try to threaten, intimidate or harass a building official for doing his job,” Mesa said in the motion to dismiss the suit.