Posts Tagged ‘minor lawsuit’

By Ray Paulick
Attorneys for Halsey Minor and Save Hialeah Racing have filed responses to John Brunetti’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit against Brunetti and the City of Hialeah over who is the legal owner of the South Florida racetrack that has been closed since 2001.

The suit, filed in February in the 11^th Circuit Court for Dade County, Fla., claims the City of Hialeah wrongly turned over the deed to the historic racetrack to a real estate entity owned by Brunetti, in violation of the city charter that requires a referendum before the transfer of city-owned property. It also claimed that Brunetti failed to live up to the terms of the lease with an option to buy Hialeah Park, when he failed to maintain a pari-mutuel permit and ceased live racing.

Brunetti’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the complaint as a sham, stating, among other things, that the agreement between the city and Brunetti preceded the law requiring a referendum on ownership transfers of city-property.

Brunetti’s motion to dismiss was based on alleged non-compliance with Florida Rule of Civil Procedure because plaintiffs did not attach a document to the amended first complaints; a lack of standing by plaintiffs; and alleged lack of viable claims against Brunetti.

Minor’s attorneys called those claims “baseless” in their responses, which can be viewed here and here. The motion to dismiss is based in part on the opinion of William Grodnick, attorney for the city of Hialeah. The response from Minor’s attorneys states “neither Plaintiffs nor more importantly this Court are bound by Grodnick’s unilateral, self-serving, and unsupported view of the law. The view of the law developed by Grodnick and supported by the Brunetti Defendants, with which Plaintiffs obviously disagree, merely frames the issue for this Court to adjudicate in this declaratory judgment action. The views of a defendant’s attorney do not render Plaintiffs’ Complaint a purported “sham” and do not support the Brunetti Defendants’ effort to shut down this lawsuit and escape what will likely be very revealing discovery as this matter goes forward.”

In a press release from Save Hialeah Racing, Minor, said he believes “the time has come to restore Hialeah Park Racetrack by preserving its historic buildings and reinstituting Thoroughbred racing on its track for the benefit of the citizens of Hialeah and the rest of Florida, as well as the millions of annual visitors to Florida.” The release stated Minor is “prepared to invest more than $100 million in restoring Hialeah Park Racetrack to make this dream a reality.”

Minor also called the recent move to bring Quarter Horse racing to Hialeah Park as a “charade.”

“The quarter horse proposal merely distracts the public’s attention from the deplorable condition of Hialeah Park Racetrack and is an insult to the people of Hialeah, who are accustomed to hosting the finest thoroughbred horses in the world.”

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