Grandview Palace v. City of North Bay Vill., 3D07-1844.
| Decision Date | 20 February 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 3D07-1844.,No. 3D07-1980.,3D07-1844.,3D07-1980. |
| Parties | GRANDVIEW PALACE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., Petitioner, v. CITY OF NORTH BAY VILLAGE, et al., Respondents. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Hyman, Spector & Mars and Michael L. Hyman, Miami; Daniels, Kashtan, Downs, Robertson & Magathan and Joseph W. Downs, III and Madelyn Simon Lozano, Coral Gables, for petitioner.
Buchbinder & Elegant and Ira M. Elegant, Miami, for respondents.
Before GERSTEN, C.J., LAGOA, J., and SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge.
Grandview Palace Condominium Association ("the Association") petitions this Court for a writ of prohibition and/or certiorari relief against the City of North Bay Village ("the City") and its chief building inspector, Paul A. Gioia ("Gioia"). We grant the writ of prohibition.
The Association is the developer-controlled association for Grandview Palace Condominium ("the Condominium"). During the Association's control, the City cited the Condominium with multiple code violations. Additionally, the Condominium suffered subsequent hurricane damage. When the Association failed to make the requisite repairs, the City seized the building.
In response, the Association sued the City and Gioia for injunctive relief and damages, alleging tortious interference with contractual obligations and an abuse of authority. Soon thereafter, the parties entered into a court-approved settlement agreement. Under this agreement, the Association was to contract with a licensed general contractor or project manager to oversee the repairs.
Judge Ronald M. Friedman appointed Kenneth Marlin ("Marlin") as a special master to oversee the repairs. Thereafter, since problems persisted under Marlin's oversight, Judge Friedman further expanded Marlin's duties. He authorized Marlin to hire and approve payment for contractors and other experts to effectuate repairs.
The Association then moved to disqualify Judge Friedman. The Association alleged it had a well-founded fear that it would not receive a fair trial because Judge Friedman's rulings demonstrated a prejudice in favor of the City and Gioia and against the developer-controlled Association. The trial court denied the motion, and the Association seeks a writ of prohibition against Judge Friedman.
In support of its petition for writ of prohibition, the Association asserts that Judge Friedman's appointment of Marlin, without proper notice or legal foundation, demonstrates prejudicial bias. Additionally, the Association asserts that Judge Friedman's bias became evident at the hearing where Judge Friedman expanded Marlin's duties. The Association posits that Judge Friedman: (1) announced in open court that he did not trust representatives of the developer; (2) threatened to jail anyone who opposed Marlin's actions; and (3) stated that he had no concern for the financial consequences of his rulings.
The City and Gioia contend that the motion to disqualify Judge...
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Miami Dade College v. Turnberry Investments, 3D07-2721.
...of not receiving fair trial). Very recently, this court reached a similar conclusion. Grandview Palace Condominium Association, Inc. v. City of North Bay Village, 974 So.2d 1170 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008). There, the trial court "(1) announced in open court that he did not trust representatives of ......
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Blake v. Waks
...not impartial, and therefore required the granting of his application for her disqualification. See Grandview Palace Condo. Ass'n v. City of N. Bay Vill., 974 So.2d 1170 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008); Miami Dade Coll. v. Turnberry Invs., 979 So.2d 1211 (Fla. 3d DCA Accordingly, the present petition fo......
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