The Town of Miami Lakes and Mayor Michael Pizzi’s attorneys have reached an agreement over a temporary stay in his lawsuit against the town which is demanding the city pays his lawyers $2.5 million for successfully defending him during his criminal trial.
According to the accord, both sides have put on hold any court proceedings relating to the lawsuit for six months, including dispositions and motions to reimburse attorneys fees, to give Miami Lakes an opportunity to pursue its own action against its insurance carrier to pay the mayor’s legal bill.
The motion for an abatement was filed on May 16 in the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County.
The temporary stay in the case would allow Miami Lakes’ attorney, Lydecker Diaz, to go after the town’s insurance company to cover the mayor’s legal bill and also recover the $460,000 as part of a settlement for Pizzi’s court costs for his reinstatement case, which started at the Florida Supreme Court and ended in the lower court.
According to the abatement, which expires November 15, the mayor’s legal team who includes Ed Shohat, Ralf Rodriguez and Ben Kuehne, might assist the town in its lawsuit against the insurance company to recover the money.
For a year, Miami Lakes has been seeking an abatement to stop the mounting legal fees. According to Town Attorney Raul Gastesi, the mayor’s lawyers repeatedly rejected the town’s request for an abatement, and he questioned the timing of the stay of litigation since the mayor’s disposition was scheduled for May 23.
At a Town Council meeting in May, Shohat verbally committed to the six-month abatement when Gastesi requested $100,000 in attorney fees for Pizzi’s deposition and other legal proceedings relating to his lawsuit.
Pizzi was arrested in 2013 in an FBI sting and was indicted on seven counts of public corruption charges.
After his acquittal in 2014, Florida Governor Rick Scott refused to reinstate him and Pizzi sued him in Florida’s top court.
The Circuit Court returned him to political office and the decision was upheld by an Appeals Court.
As for the town’s litigation against its insurance company, Gastesi said a hearing is scheduled for Thursday, June 9, for the company’s motion to dismiss the town’s case.
Sometime before July 31, since the insurance litigation and criminal fees cases are related, the attorneys involved in the criminal fees case are attempting to have the attorneys and parties involved in the insurance litigation case attend a mediation session.
Gastesi said since the abatement was approved, the $100,000 is not needed for the town’s legal expense for the deposition and other legal motions in the mayor’s case.
But the Council approved his request for $35,000 from the $100,000 for the mediation sessions.