Charles M. Baron, Esq. likes to sue people.

When he’s not actually filing a lawsuit, he’s threatening to sue.

It doesn’t matter whether or not he has a legitimate beef (most of the time he does not), there is apparently no crisis he’s willing to let go to waste.  If anyone is the poster child for Tort Reform, it’s Charles M. Baron.

Chucky is obsessed with stopping development in North Miami Beach despite the fact that he is neither a resident nor a business owner in the city.  He’s taken it upon himself to try to prevent a much needed hotel from being built on West Dixie Highway near Greynolds Park under the pretense of protecting the environment.  Greynolds Park is not even located in North Miami Beach, and will not even be affected by the planned hotel.  In fact, Baron’s own seven story condominium is practically inside the park itself and located DIRECTLY ON THE WATERWAY that Chucky claims needs protecting from Big Bad Development.

Just to refresh your memories, here’s the satellite view of Chucky’s World:

Yes, he’s a hypocrite of the worst kind.

Baron’s obsession led him to file not one, but two lawsuits.

LAWSUIT #1

In 2012, Charles M. Baron joined Errol Alvey, Shelly Clay and Robert Taylor in filing the first of two lawsuits against the City of North Miami Beach.

The Court ruled in favor of the defendant, the City of North Miami Beach.

Chucky appealed by filing a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, defined as “a document which a losing party files” with a higher court asking it “to review the decision of a lower court.”

In an opinion rendered by the Appellate Division of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Miami-Dade County Florida on May 19, 2014, the court determined that the City Council’s decision to approve the site plan was “supported by competent substantial evidence,” that “the essential requirements of the law had been observed,” and that “due process had been accorded.”

In other words, Chucky’s appeal was DENIED.

CASED CLOSED!

Undaunted, Chucky then filed a Motion for Clarification, asking the Appellate Court to clarify its own decision.

That motion was DENIED on November 6, 2014.

Not only did the Court smack the petitioners, but it specifically noted that “utilizing a motion for clarification for purposes of reargument is improper…”

Which translates to, “Quit wasting the Court’s time!”

CASE REALLY CLOSED!

Finally, on August 20, 2014, the Council proceeded to unanimously approve the project.

But Chucky had another trick up his sleeve.

LAWSUIT #2

While waiting for LAWSUIT #1 to make its way through the system, Charles Baron had filed another lawsuit in 2013.  In this case, he was joined by the eco-terrorist anti-development group, Friends of the Oleta River, Inc., a Florida corporation, and also by Matthew Anderson, Bill Campbell, Jack Lieberman, Kimberly Lumpkin, Elena Castro-Moran, and Phillip Marzo.

Chucky lost that case, too.

And so he filed a another Petition for a Writ of Certiorari before the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Appeal, asking them to “quash the development orders” that approved the building of the hotel.

Another opinion was issued on October 16, 2014 by the Appellate Court, which deemed, “We further find that the record does provide competent, substantial evidence that the proposed hotel use would not have a substantial detrimental effect on neighborhood property values and that the site plan is consistent with the goals, policies and objectives of the North Miami Beach Comprehensive Plan’s conservation element and future land use element.”

In plain English, this means that the Appellate Court gave the City of North Miami Beach’s site plan a green light.

The Court, however, did opine that although the Council members had disclosed their ex-parte communications (commonly referred to as Jennings disclosures) with individuals, they did not disclose the specific subject matter of those communications.  As a result, the City Council had to hold another public hearing for the sole purpose of making those disclosures.  That hearing took place on Tuesday, December 2, 2014.

Despite the limited scope of the Court’s decision, Chucky told the folks who manage the Save Greynolds Park Facebook page that he won the appeal and “quashed” the development of the hotel!

HUH?

NEWS FLASH:  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WAS QUASHED!

Chucky lied.

Yes, we are shocked.

Okay, not really.

Nevertheless, at Tuesday night’s meeting, which you can watch online, Charles M. Baron tried to hijack the entire proceeding.

Because the rehearing to include ex-parte communications was due to the appeal of LAWSUIT #2, only the lawyers representing the two parties to that suit (in addition to the City of North Miami Beach, which is represented by the City Attorney) were permitted sufficient time to plead their cases.  The attorney for the Petitioner (Friends of the Oleta River, et al) is Stuart Reed.  The attorney for the developer is Rod Feiner.

Public comment was limited, as usual, to three minutes per person.

Despite the FACT that Chucky lost LAWSUIT #1, which is OFFICIALLY A CLOSED CASE, he demanded to be allowed to speak as the lawyer for the Petitioners in LAWSUIT #1.  City Attorney Jose Smith reminded the Council (hour 2:33:24 of the video) that this rehearing was about LAWSUIT #2, in which Stuart Reed is the only attorney for the Petitioners.  Since Charles Baron is a client of Mr. Reed and a party to LAWSUIT #2, the Mayor allotted him the same three minutes afforded to all members of the public during public comment.

Chucky went ballistic!

And the circus began at hour 2:34:03.

As much as I’d love to give you a play-by-play of the meeting, and tell you all about North Miami Beach City Attorney Jose Smith’s hilarious smack down of Charles Baron, and Rod Feiner’s devastating bitch slap of Stuart Reed, you really need to watch it for yourself in order to fully appreciate the poetic justice.

Suffice it to say that every single red herring Chucky & Stu tried to toss out there was caught and thrown back in their faces.  It really was a beautiful thing.

In a nutshell, however, here are the highlights:

Mr. Reed claimed that emails to government officials were not part of “the record.”

Mr. Feiner reminded Reed that “all emails on the city server are public records.”

DUH!

Mr. Reed said that since Frantz Pierre was not present and was unable to fulfill his Jennings disclosures, the Council could not proceed with its approval of the project.

Mr. Feiner reminded Reed that there was a quorum, adding that even though Frantz Pierre was absent, he wasn’t required to make ex-parte communication disclosures on something he wasn’t voting on in the first place.

DUH!

Lastly, Mr. Reed closed with stating, “Please continue it to the next meeting and, hopefully, with putting our heads together we’ll be able to resolve something with the applicant.”

Mr. Feiner shot back by reminding the Council that the petitioners never offered a rational settlement.  “It’s another red herring thrown out because they know the development is being built.  Time is money.  They’re trying to find whatever they can do to kill a project because they don’t like it.”

All together now … DUH!

Needless to say that Chucky Surrogate, Stuart Reed, was out-smarted, out-witted and out-classed by the attorney for the developer, Rod Feiner.

But that was only the first hour and a half of the three hour hearing.  The cast of characters who spoke at public comment deserve a blog unto themselves.  Stay tuned for Chucky’s Nuts, Part 2: Misfits on Parade.

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”