MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A high-stakes legal battle between Miami-Dade County and The Dolphin Company, operators of Miami Seaquarium, took a turn Wednesday morning when a civil judge denied the county’s motion for immediate eviction over a late rent payment.
Miami-Dade County assistant attorneys requested a judge to grant a default final judgment and immediate possession of the property; however, the judge denied the motion.
Attorneys representing The Dolphin Company described the county’s legal move as a “gotcha” motion, requesting the judge to clarify the rent deposit schedule outlined in the court order. They reminded the court that both parties are scheduled for mediation on Oct. 21.
“We believe that an eviction today, based on the County’s ‘gotcha’ motion, is manifestly unfair,” said attorney Jeffrey Roth, who represents the MS Leisure Company, the operating subsidiary of The Dolphin Company.
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However, Melanie Spencer, an assistant attorney representing Miami-Dade County, pushed back, stating, “This isn’t a ‘gotcha.’ They made a mistake, and they’re trying to get out of it.”
With nearly 1,000 animals and 148 jobs at stake, the company’s legal team urged the judge to allow mediation to proceed later this month. Ultimately, the judge ultimately denied the county’s motion and told the Dolphin Company they need to be paying rent on the 15th of every month.
“Twelve hours late, I get it, but this is 2024 -- it’s not that draconian,” the judge told county attorneys. “I’m going to deny your motion.”
After the hearing, Edwin Rodriguez, a company representative, told Local 10 News, “The county wanted to evict us immediately, but we knew we were within our rights to pay within a reasonable time.”
“We took this hearing seriously,” said Hilton Napoleon II, an attorney representing MS Leisure Company. “We understood the county was trying to kick the Seaquarium off the property over a rent payment that was only 12 hours late, and they were unsuccessful.”
This legal battle comes in the wake of a lawsuit filed by Miami-Dade County earlier this year seeking to evict the Seaquarium operators. The county has cited multiple breaches of the lease agreement, largely stemming from a series of USDA inspection reports documenting animal welfare violations and facility failures.
The Dolphin Company’s legal team argued that several issues highlighted in the county’s complaint have been addressed, weakening the case for eviction.
Napoleon told Local 10 News in an interview after the hearing that Miami-Dade County has put them in a sort of “Catch-22″ after citing them for unsafe structures not currently open to the public, such as the whale bowl, while also not issuing them permits to renovate it or demolish.
“The county claims that there are over 80 violations at the Seaquarium,” he said. “The county knows that we have actually corrected the vast majority of the violations that can be corrected. The other violations have to do with structures that are not even open to the public and not even in open public areas, so they are trying to claim there are violations on the property that simply don’t exist or can’t be fixed because they refuse to issue us building permits to fix anything. So the county is essentially placing us in a Catch-22 that is just completely improper.”
In court Wednesday morning, attorneys for The Dolphin Company argued that several issues outlined in Miami-Dade County’s eviction complaint have since been remedied, which they claim invalidates the county’s grounds for eviction.
Miami Seaquarium leadership previously shared similar sentiments during an exclusive tour with Local 10 News back in April, where they highlighted capital improvement projects aimed at addressing concerns raised by the county.
While the eviction process continues, company representatives maintain that they remain open for business.
A statement from Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s office reiterated confidence in the county’s legal position, which you can read here:
“The eviction process continues despite today’s ruling. This motion solely addressed the Seaquarium’s failure to make timely payments. The county remains confident in our legal basis and is considering next steps.”
“As to the order itself, I hope the county appeals,” stated attorney Daniel Wehking, a former Miami Seaquarium animal caretaker, “The case law cited in their motion is directly on point and does not provide the trial court with discretion to let rent violations slide. There is no excuse for the Seaquarium not to make payments on time as required by their lease and the court order.”
Wehking added, “The Seaquarium continues to operate without the accreditation from American Humane required by their lease and have gone from having a full-time veterinarian in the park when the county and the USDA allege they had insufficient veterinary staff to a veterinarian in St. Augustine that works on three Dolphin Company properties.”
Read the court filing here: