MIAMI – Joe Carollo scored another legal victory in his fight against a $63.5 million legal verdict; a judge issued a recommendation Wednesday that the Miami city commissioner shouldn’t have his wages garnished to pay the Little Havana businessmen who won a lawsuit against him.
A jury ruled on June 1, 2023 that Carollo violated the rights of the businessmen, Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla. It’s a verdict Carollo has been fighting to overturn ever since.
While trying to get the case thrown out entirely in appeals court, he’s also fought to keep his house in Coconut Grove — and portions of his paychecks — from going to Fuller and Pinilla to satisfy the judgment.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis ruled Wednesday recommending that the city of Miami cease garnishing 25% of Carollo’s wages. They had been going into escrow for the time being.
Louis had previously recommended that Carollo be able to keep his home.
Legal analyst David Weinstein said of the judge, “Her view at this point is the writ of garnishment is improper and therefore the plaintiffs are not entitled to keep taking a portion of the wages.”
In her ruling, Judge Louis states that “none of the Plaintiffs’ legal arguments are persuasive” while adding that she shares “Plaintiffs’ skepticism of the Carollos’ testimony.” In her footnote citing that “Mr. Carollo’s direct examination was heavily led by his counsel” and that his testimony “in some ways contradicted by the financial records and in other respects meaningfully uncorroborated by any records adduced at the hearing.”
“While she comments on it in the report and in the footnote that it was led by his lawyers and it is perhaps not as credible as other evidence introduced,” legal analyst David Weinstein said. “She thinks that based on the facts and law that the plaintiffs had not met their burden (preponderance of the evidence).”
Carollo hailed the decision as a victory in a news conference on Wednesday.
“I told you they would not be able to take my wages,” he said.
The plaintiffs had argued that Carollo’s wife “manipulated their financial circumstances” to make Carollo the head of family, preventing wage garnishment, something Carollo denies. He said Wednesday he provides more than 50% of their household income.
“Where’s their proof? Where’s the beef?” Carollo asked. “These people have ran a campaign of defaming me and now they have run a campaign trying to defame my wife.”
Weinstein said Wednesday’s decision “doesn’t mean this is where it ends” and said, “It is never over in the legal system until all your appeals have run out.”
“So these are victories, no question, but they may turn out to be temporary victories,” he said.“What this all means right now is that the plaintiffs are doing all they can to collect this $63.5 million dollar verdict that they have, they have been unsuccessful so far, but that doesn’t mean they will continue to be unsuccessful.”
Fuller and Pinilla’s attorney, Jeff Gutchess, said he plans to object to the report and “seek additional evidence.” Scroll to read his full statement.
Read the ruling:
Plaintiffs’ attorney statement:
“What is incredible to us is that Commissioner Carollo is bragging about the fact he is broke, while he is continuously exposing the City of Miami and the taxpayers to millions of dollars in litigation because of his draconian methods to persecute my clients for exercising their first amendment rights.
The evidence was undisputed that in the first half of 2023, right up to the $63 million verdict on June 1, 2023, Mrs. Carollo paid much more than Mr. Carollo did for the family expenses. It also showed that the family’s expense on an annual basis were more than $200,000 more that Joe Carollo earned from the City, and that if you extrapolate that back for the 7 years in which he served as a Commissioner, that is more than $800,000 in expenses that were paid by someone other than Joe Carollo. However, the Court did not allow us to obtain evidence of Mrs. Carollo’s income or expenses prior to 2023. Moreover, when the jury issued its $63 million verdict, and we filed our motion for a Writ of Garnishment the following week, the Carollos' income and spending habits changed dramatically, with Joe Carollo beginning to pay the expenses, depleting all the funds in his accounts, and Mrs. Carollo testified that she ceased working for money at that point, expressly due to the trial and verdict. We do not believe the law allows a judgment debtor to manipulate the family income or spending habits in that manner to defeat a Writ of Garnishment.
We understand and respect Magistrate Judge Louis’s decision, and especially the time and effort she put into this matter, but we do believe the right thing to do in these circumstances is to object to the Report and Recommendation and to seek additional evidence.”
Jeff Gutchess, plaintiffs' attorney
Carollo attorney statement:
“Yesterday’s (August 14, 2024) federal ruling protecting Commissioner Carollo’s City Salary from Garnishment is Good News for all Florida Families. The Court’s decision is attached. The federal court declaration is a clear and principled victory for all working people: providing for spouses and families comes first when predatory creditors attempt to garnish salaries that provide support for our families.
Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo and his family are vindicated by the federal court validation of his exemption as the head of his family because he supports his wife and his household with his City salary. With this favorable ruling, Commissioner Carollo has protected the head-of-family exemption to garnishment.
Commissioner Carollo continues to proudly serve the residents of the City of Miami and his District and will work tirelessly to protect the health, safety, and welfare of all residents and businesses.
Commissioner Carollo looks forward to prevailing in the federal Court of Appeals as he demonstrates the creditors’ claims are without merit.’
Ben Kuehne, Carollo's attorney