Siblings Sean and Nicole Mirmelli suffered a significant setback in their legal battle to kill a 99-year ground lease tied to one of two parcels underneath the Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel in Miami Beach.
Last week, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Thomas Rebull dismissed four of the five counts in the Mirmellis’ May lawsuit against hotel owner Chisholm Properties South Beach, led by Robert Balzebre. The dismissed counts included breach of contract, commercial eviction and slander of title.
Rebull essentially denied the Mirmellis’ request to cancel the ground lease, as well as appoint a receiver to take over management of the parcel at 1731 Collins Avenue that makes up half of the Surfcomber assemblage. Chisholm and the Mirmellis, through a trust, each own 50 percent of the 1731 Collins Avenue land.
When Chisholm bought the three-story hotel for $1.4 million in 2004, the firm separately assumed the ground lease at 1731 Collins Avenue that allowed for construction of the 186-key Art Deco building completed in 1948, records show. The deal also included the second parcel at 1717 Collins Avenue, which Chisholm owns outright.
In an emailed statement, Mirmelli attorney Joseph Pardo said his clients will seek a rehearing “and will appeal if necessary.”
“We believe there was an ongoing breach because the lease restrictions are covenants that run with the land,” Pardo said.
Abbey Kaplan, a lawyer representing Chisholm, said the Mirmellis’ lawsuit was “a frivolous and misguided attempt to unwind a long-standing lease.”
In their lawsuit, the Mirmellis alleged that Chisholm breached the ground lease by altering the building’s condition that did not conform to the 99-year agreement. Chisholm also was allegedly hit with liens on the property and obtained an unauthorized $20.5 million loan in 2014 that was secured by the building and the two parcels.
The Mirmellis, whose cousin Andrew Mirmelli is a prolific Miami Beach real estate investor, accused Chisholm of including an estoppel letter with a purported forgery of Nicole Mirmelli’s signature with the mortgage documents. In an affidavit, she denied signing the letter, which verified the current status of the ground lease.
Chisholm’s lawyer disputed the allegation. “Our client received the fully executed Estoppel Certificate directly from the Mirmellis,” Kaplan said. “And a notary testified under oath that he personally witnessed the signing. Any alleged misdeed was attributable to the Mirmellis.”
Rebull ruled that the Mirmellis’ claims about the liens and the 2014 mortgage were barred by a statute of limitations. The judge also determined that the Mirmellis lacked standing to enforce the ground lease without Chisholm’s consent.
