Martinez de Castro v. The City of South Miami (Miami-Dade County Case No.: 2013-9342 CA (15)
Apr 18, 2016OUTCOME: Verdict for Plaintiff - $434,731.85
Former South Miami Police Chief, Orlando Martinez de Castro’s legal battle with his former employer finally reached its resolution Monday afternoon. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Jose M. Rodriguez iss ... ued his verdict for the Plaintiff in the amount of $434,731.85. Originally set to be heard by a Miami-Dade County Jury, both parties agreed to waive their right to a jury trial and proceed with a bench trial after the City Attorney for South Miami, Thomas F. Pepe, Esq. caused a mistrial with his comments during his opening statement. The verdict brings the lawsuit, filed on March 13, 2013, to a close and vindicates the Plaintiff, who has maintained throughout, that he never accepted the position of the Acting City Manager, nor that he resigned his position as Chief of Police, as was alleged by the City of South Miami. The lawsuit was originally filed after the City of South Miami improperly withheld contractual benefits from Mr. Martinez de Castro and refused to submit to contractual mediation and binding arbitration. After filing the lawsuit, the City passed Resolution #167-13-13985 on August 14, 2013 in a failed attempt to claim that Martinez de Castro had resigned his position by operation of law, voiding the Employment Agreement. The only issue at trial was damages in the wake of Judge Rodriguez’s March 10, 2015 Order granting the Plaintiff’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment which ruled against the City of South Miami. The Order concluded that the City was in Breach of the Employment Agreement and went on to declare that the City’s August 14, 2013 Resolution #167-13-13985, which effectively terminated Mr. Martinez de Castro’s employment, conflicted with South Miami’s City Charter, Florida’s Sunshine Laws, and the Florida Constitution. Mr. Martinez de Castro’s attorneys have drafted and filed their Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs, pursuant to Judge Rodriguez’s January 8, 2016 Order granting the Plaintiff’s Motion for Entitlement to Attorneys’ Fees and Costs pursuant to the terms of the subject Employment Agreement and Florida Statute §448.08.
