Some of the most significant players in South Florida’s actual estate industry identified themselves in court docket battling horrible allegations in 2023.
In some cases, plaintiffs sought to expose the darkish nexus between developers and Miami elected officers with an alleged penchant for skirting moral boundaries. Among the most notable: Rishi Kapoor, the disgraced founder of Coral Gables-dependent Location Ventures who resigned from his agency amid an avalanche of lawsuits towards the firm and him.
Other lawful skirmishes featured higher-profile serious estate executives, Stephanie Shojaee and Patrick Carroll, who faced accusations of portray them selves in a good mild by allegedly defaming men and women with whom they clashed. And in probate court docket, siblings of Miami Beach front true estate dynasty, the Robins relatives, are duking it out more than the assets of their deceased patriarch, Gerald “Jerry” Robins.
Here are the 10 juiciest South Florida lawsuits claimed by The Real Offer in 2023:
Wynwood restaurant supervisor sues Patrick Carroll
In April, Miguel Angel Weill suffered the indignity of allegedly being spat in the experience by Carroll, who bought his eponymous multifamily true estate administration company for $80 million over the summer time. Caroll allegedly slandered Weill, the manager of a Wynwood Japanese restaurant, by falsely accusing him of making an attempt to extort the multifamily mogul, in accordance to a defamation lawsuit filed in June. Carroll has denied spitting in Weill’s confront, and the lawsuit is however pending.
The battle for Jerry Robins’ estate
In June, Miami Seaside broker Stacy Robins released a lawful battle versus her siblings, Gina Robins and builders Craig and Scott Robins, to stake her assert to their deceased father’s estate. In court filings, Stacy Robins accuses her sister and two brothers of making an attempt to exclude about $6 million from the closing tally of their deceased father’s assets. In October, Craig, Gina and Scott Robins submitted a petition requesting the appointment of an “independent curator” to type out which of Jerry Robins’ property really should be incorporated in the distribution program spelled out in his will.
Site Ventures ex-CFO exposes Rishi Kapoor
In May, Greg Brooks unfurled bombshell allegations that activated Kapoor’s downfall as one particular of the increasing stars in South Florida’s actual estate field. In a lawsuit towards Area Ventures, Brooks, the firm’s previous CFO, accused Kapoor of a number of improprieties, most notably that he experienced employed Miami Mayor Francis Suarez as a non-public guide earning $10,000 a month for an unexplained position. In response to the criticism, Place Ventures verified the Suarez arrangement, but mentioned the mayor’s aspect gig was to market Locale Ventures outside the house the metropolis of Miami. Brooks and Location Ventures settled the lawsuit, but a wave of new civil problems before long followed towards the company and Kapoor. Site Ventures now has a receiver appointed and is selling off all its assets. Kapoor remaining the business in July while dealing with legal investigations.
Bill Fuller, Martin Pinilla keep on crusade versus Miami officials
In the wake of securing a $63.5 million verdict towards Miami commissioner Joe Carollo for relentlessly harassing Tiny Havana developers Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla and their companies, Fuller and Pinilla turned their scopes to town bureaucrats. In November, the duo filed a new federal lawsuit against Carollo, the town and nine Miami governing administration staff members, which includes Metropolis Supervisor Arthur Noriega and Town Attorney Victoria Mendez. Fuller and Pinilla are trying to find additional than $60 million in damages for an alleged marketing campaign of specific harassment that shut down their businesses and resulted in allegedly unlawful code violations towards their properties.
The ex-Mrs. Shojaee sues the latest Mrs. Shojaee
Maria Lamas, co-founder of Shoma Team, and her daughters, Anelise Shojaee and Lilibet Shojaee, did not value Stephanie Shojaee, Shoma’s president, mouthing off about them for the duration of a podcast. In February, Lamas and her little ones sued Stephanie Shojaee, who is married to Lamas’ ex-partner and Shoma’s other co-founder, Masoud Shojaee, for defamation. The trio alleged the latest Mrs. Shojaee built wrong statements about them during a podcast job interview in December of previous yr. In Oct, Stephanie Shojaee, Lamas and the two daughters entered into a private settlement settlement, and the case was dismissed, courtroom records demonstrate.
Hammocks receiver targets ex-HOA attorneys
David Gersten, the court-appointed receiver for the Hammocks Neighborhood Association, a property owners association at the center of a person of the biggest criminal fraud scenarios involving HOAs, established his sights versus lawyers that allegedly aided and abetted the scheme. Gersten submitted lawsuits against regulation company Rasco Klock Perez & Nieto and associate Hilton Napoleon II, and legislation business Elbert Radames Alfaro Berta, Alfaro & Fernandez and its lawyer, Yudany Fernandez. The pending complaints search for $9 million in damages.
Injured teen’s parents sue business broker George Pino
George Pino, president of Doral-based State Street Realty, is in a heap of hassle around a lethal boat crash he allegedly triggered on Labor Day weekend of final 12 months. In addition to going through legal rates, Pino and his spouse are getting sued by the mother and father of Katerina Sofia Puig, a 17-yr-outdated lady on the boat trip who was remaining completely disabled. The incident also killed 17-year-old Luciana Fernandez. Kathya and Rodolfo Fernando Puig, the injured teen’s parents, allege Pino was ingesting alcohol and presented it to the young adults aboard the boat he was driving.
Lobbyist accuses Miami commissioner of shakedown
In September, lobbyist and previous point out representative Manny Prieguez sued then-Miami commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla and two of his near confidantes, Humberto “Bert” Hernandez and Anibel Duarte-Viera, on civil counts of racketeering, conspiracy and attempted bribery. Prieguez alleges the trio participated in a plan to coerce him and his client, Aabad Melwani, into earning Duarte-Viera a associate in a staff vying for a new metropolis contract to make a new marina on metropolis-owned land in Virginia Key. Prieguez statements the alleged extortion attempt unsuccessful, but that Diaz de la Portilla then engaged in a marketing campaign to damage Prieguez’s lobbying enterprise. The lawsuit is even now pending. Diaz de la Portilla dropped re-election previous month soon after remaining criminally billed with multiple felonies stemming from an unrelated general public corruption probe.
Sutter & Nugent alleges theft of trade secrets
Palm Seaside Gardens-centered brokerage, Sutter & Nugent, accused two previous agents, Matthew Moser and Nicholas Gonzalez, and rival agency Serhant Florida of participating in company chicanery. In May possibly, Sutter & Nugent submitted a lawsuit alleging the brokers stole trade strategies and violated their contracts. The criticism accuses Moser and Gonzalez of soliciting staff members and agents to join them at Serhant, as perfectly as employing private marketing facts and stealing listings that have been initiated or secured through Sutter & Nugent. The lawsuit is nevertheless pending.
Suffolk and Jules Trump keep on battling in excess of Sunny Isles Beach project
After settling previous lawsuits in excess of building of the prolonged-delayed — and not too long ago accomplished — Estates at Acqualina in Sunny Isles Seaside, Suffolk Building reignited its lawful war with developer Jules Trump. In February, the typical contractor submitted an amended complaint including one more $5 million in allegedly unpaid function at the two-tower condominium job. Trump is trying to find approximately $50 million in damages from Suffolk. The corporation promises Trump also tried out to poach employees doing the job on the improvement. Each lawsuits are nevertheless pending.
