LTC 261-2024 Victory on Appeal in Alberonick Valsaint v. City of Miami Beach, et al.MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
L TC No. 261-2024
RECEIVED
JUN 25 2024
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE Or "uE CITY CLERK
LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
Mayor Steven Meiner and Members of the City Commission
Ricardo J. Dopico, City Attorney~
June 24, 2024
SUBJECT: Victory on Appeal in Alberonick Va/saint v. City of Miami Beach, et al.
This letter is a supplement to L TC No. 458-2022, which reported a federal court victory
from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which ruled in favor of the
City of Miami Beach and granted dismissal of the complaint in the case of Va/saint v. City
of Miami Beach, et al. I am pleased to inform you that, on June 17, 2024, the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed that decision.
In the lawsuit, the Plaintiff, who is homeless, alleged that his constitutional rights were
violated on two separate occasions-once in 2017 and once in 2018-when officers
approached him and asked that he leave private property. The Plaintiff sued the City and
several individual Miami Beach Police Department officers, alleging (among other things)
that the police encounters were motivated by his race, national origin, and homeless
status. The District Court dismissed the claims from 2017 as untimely and dismissed the
claims from 2018 on the merits.
On appeal, the Plaintiff challenged only the dismissal of the 2017 claims. He argued that
his limited means for filing and transportation, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic,
complicated his ability to timely file his claims. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh
Circuit affirmed the dismissal, holding that the District Court was correct to dismiss the
claims and that the proffered reasons for delay were insufficient.
On behalf of the City, the case was litigated in-house by First Assistant City Attorney
Henry J. Hunnefeld, Senior Assistant City Attorney Freddi Mack, and Assistant City
Attorney Benjamin Braun. If you would like to read the Eleventh Circuit's opinion, please
email your request to: amadagonzalez@miamibeachfl.gov.
As always, please feel free to contact me or Rob Rosenwald for further information about
this or any City litigation matter.
RJD/RFR/ag