99-23106 RESO
R7 - Resolutions
R7C City Attorney Commission Memorandum No.
A Resolution regarding a Settlement of Federal Lawsuit Styled William Thomas Skinner vs. City of
Miami Beach. United States District Court, Southern District. Case No. 97-1355 crv MORENO.
(City Attorney's Office)
(Documents in Legal - To be Submitted)
~
c
~
w
~~
Agenda Item
R1~
Date
-
AftelAction"
March 17, 1999
City of Miami Beach
The City Attorney's office recommended approval of the settlement
City Manager Sergio Rodriguez stated that both he and Chief Barreto. agree that Lt Skinner should not
receive the pay of a Captain unless he is a Captain, The City Manager then suggested that if there is a
settlement, Mr. Skinner should be appointed to the rank of Captain and that he would then have the
same benefits and responsibilities as all other Captains in the department (replacing paragraph 4), As
part of the settlement, the City Manager recommended appointing Lt Skinner to the rank of police
captain,
Resolution No. 9-23106 adopted. Motion made by Commissioner Smith to accept the settlement
proposed by the C Attorney's ce, as modified by the City Manager's recommendation; seconded
by Commissioner Cruz; vOice vote: 6-0; absent: Mayor Kasdin,
R7D Commission Memorandum No. 228-99
A Resolution Requesting that the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Florida Department of
Transportation Extend the Proposed Tunnel Segment of the East-West Multimodal Corridor Project,
from its Presently-Planned East Terminus, the Port of Miami, to South Pointe in Miami Beach, Thereby
Making the Beach Connection a Part of the Project's First Minimum Operative Segment (MOS-1), and
Meeting the Regional Transportation Needs of the Miami Beach Residents, Commuters and Visitors,
Administration Recommendation: Adopt the Resolution,
(Community/Economic Development)
ACTION: Resolution No, 99-23107 adopted, Motion made by Commissioner Liebman; seconded by
Commissioner Smith; voice vote: 4-1 (opposed: Commissioner Shapiro); absent: Mayor Kasdin and
Commissioner Dermer, Christina Cuervo to handle,
Handout: East-West Multimodal Corridor / Description of Projects / Florida Department of Transportation
/ May 1997
23
Afte, ActiO!'
,
March 17, 1999
City of Miami Beach
R7B Commission Memorandum No. 227-99
A Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Execute the Lease between 711 Deco. Inc. and the City of
Miami Beach Dated June 20, 1997, and Directing the City Manager to Identify Funding of
Approximately $60,000 from the Ultimate User Department, Seeking Subsequent Appropriation
Authorization, to Pay the City's Net Cost of Building Out Approximately 3,000 Square Feet of Space
Leased by the City at 701-725 5th Street in the City of Miami Beach, Florida; and Providing an
Effective Date.
Administration Recommendation: Adopt the Resolution.
(Asset Management)
ACTION: Resolution No. 99-23105 adopted. Motion made by Vice-Mayor Gottlieb; seconded by
Commissioner Smith; voice vote: 6-0; absent: Commissione! Cruz.
W1/r'f ... . . "
R7C City Attorney Commission Memorandum No. ?IIJ~...-' t/t~ P'/j;;:. .~w
A Resolution regarding a Settlement of Federal Lawsuit Styled William Thomas ~r ~s. City of _, .< j
Miami Beach, United States District Court, Southern District, Case No. 97-1355 CIV MORENO. c7}..N'P-
(City Attorney's Office) -"t.!"';j
(Documents in Legal- To be Submitted) ,(v3 t.5
ACTION: The following was read into the record by Chief Deputy City Attorney Donald Papy:
This is a reverse discrimination case brought by Lt. William Skinner, a non-Hispanic, against the City
because of the appointment of Leonard Alamo, a Hispanic, to the position of Captain in the police
department in September 1996.
Lt. Skinner sued to obtain the Captain position, back pay, pain and suffering damages, costs and
attorney fees, claiming that he was not selected because of his ethnicity (i.e. that he is not Hispanic).
On February 17, prior to the start of trial, which was anticipated to take 8 days, because of the additional
costs, risks, and exposure to the City, the City Attorney's office reached a tentative settlement proposal
with the Plaintiff and his attorneys, subject to approval by the Commission, which contains the
following terms:
1. Non-admission of liability.
2. No back payor compensatory damages.
3. Non-retaliation provision.
4. That Plaintiff remain as a Lieutenant but hereafter receive a supplement to his salary equal to the
difference between a Lieutenant's pay and Captain's pay (as ifhe had been appointed in September
1996). Any overtime Plaintiff that works, as a lieutenant, which is ordinarily compensated
separately, would be credited to the City in the supplement. Additionally, Plaintiff would have
full access to a City car, as do Captains. rather than the restricted FOP car he now has.
5. Pay reasonable attorney fees and costs--determined through mediation or by the Court.
22
11- Z >; !de.,
"'
.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COUlZT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLOlUDA
....:.;.~:~~."'...
"-,~' '''',:~:",~
WILLIAM T. SKINNER
Plaintiff,
v.
CASE NO. 97-1355-CIV-MORENO
Magistrate Judge Turnoff
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Defendant
/
SETTLEMENT STIPULATION
The Parties settle the above-referenced case as outlined in the hearing transcript attached
hereto as Exhibit "A", with the following modifications:
1. The City shall appoint Skinner to Captain forthwith, in lieu of Skinner remaining
as a Lieutenant and receiving the supplement as contemplated by Exhibit "A." Skinner's starting
salary as a Captain shall be computed as provided in Exhibit "A", and shall be retroactive to
February 17, 1999.
2. If, after being promoted to Captain, Skinner is harassed or discriminated against
by the City in retaliation for having brought this litigation, he may seek a voluntary demotion to
Lieutenant with the supplement referred to in Exhibit "A." Should Skinner seek such voluntary
demotion, it will be his burden, in an arbitration proceeding to be heard before Robert L. Norton,
Esq., to establish that he has been harassed or discriminated against in retaliation for having
brought this litigation. If Skinner is unable to meet his burden in this paragraph, he may, at his
option, continue to hold the position of Captain or be returned to the position of Lieutenant
without the supplement referred to in Exhibit "A."
'.
".
3. If, after promoting Skinner to Captain, the City seeks to demote Skinner back to
the position of Lieutenant, based upon alleged substandard performance or misconduct, the City
will have the burden of establishing in an arbitration proceeding to be heard before Robert 1.
Norton, Esq., that such demotion would be based upon just cause. Should the City meet its
burden, Skinner will then be demoted to Lieutenant without the supplement referred to in Exhibit
"A."
4. If, after being promoted to Captain, Skinner is demoted to Lieutenant, based upon
a position elimination or budget cut, he will retain the supplement referred to in Exhibit "A.n
5. The term of this Agreement shall be for a period of four years from the date of its
execution by the parties. During the term of this Agreement, Skinner agrees to waive any claim
of retaliation under Title VII and Chapter 760, Florida Statutes with regard to those matters
subject to arbitration as provided in paragraphs 2 and 3 above.
6. The arbitrator's fees and costs will be divided equally by the parties with each
party being responsible for its own attorney's fees and other costs associated with the arbitration
provided for in paragraphs 2 or 3 above. If for any reason Robert 1. Norton cannot hear the case,
the parties shall attempt to agree on a substitute for Norton and ifunable to do so, shall contact
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services for a panel of 5 arbitrators. Upon receipt of the
panel of arbitrators from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services, the parties shall strike
names alternated with the moving party striking first. After striking names, the remaining
arbitrator shall hear the case. The decision of the arbitrator, whether Norton or a substitute, shall
be final and binding.
7. The parties consent to filing of this stipulation with the Court. The parties
stipulate to entry of an Agreed Order which ratifies and approves this Agreement, and adopts this
62908_1
2
Agreement as the order of the Court. The Agreed Order will provide for administrative dismissal
of the pending action, with prejudice, with a reservation of jurisdiction to determine the amount
of reasonable costs and reasonable attorney's fees to be awarded to Plaintiff and Plaintiffs
counsel as provided for in point 4 of Exhibit "A", and a reservation of jurisdiction to enforce the
Agreement and the Agreed Order.
READ AND AGREED as of the last date set forth below.
Dated
3/51/f1
d/~~
William T. Skinner
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Dated
Jhl/1?
/
/
By: /'/'w"f Colj)-f--Jn,
Name: ~~
Title: 5,r, t1~st elf)'" ~
/
62908_1
3
~
CERTIFICATE OF ATTORNEYS
The undersigned counsel have reviewed the foregoing Settlement Stipulation with their
respective clients, and certify that they have fully explained their rights and obligations
thereunder.
CATLIN, SAXON, TUTTLE & EVANS, PA
Attorneys for Plaintiff
1700 Alfred 1. Dupont Building
169 East Flagler Street
Miami, Florida 33131
Telephone (305) 371-9575
Fax: (305) 371-9575
By: ~/)r: ~:; 1.
St phen-J. Kolski, Jr. tf'
Fla. BarNo.: 856673
MURRAY H. DUBBIN, CITY ATTORNEY
Attorneys for Defendant
1700 Convention Center Drive
4th Floor Legal Department
Miami Beach, Florida 33139
. Telephone: (305) 673-7470
Fax: (305) 673-7002
By~//::iILrv
Print Name
Fla. Bar No.: ,J'r> Zl2>{
62908_1
4
"
,.. '.." ".}..
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
MIAMI DIVISION
WILLIAM THOMAS SKINNER,
Case 97-1355-CIV-FAM
Plaintiff,
vs.
MIAMI, FLORIDA
FEBRUARY 17, 1999
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH,
Defendant.
TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS
BEFORE THE HONORABLE FEDERICO A. MORENO,
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
APPEARANCES:
FOR THE PLAINTIFF:
STEPHEN KOLSKI, JR., ESQ.
WILLIAM TUTTLE, ESQ.
HELEN SCHWARTZ, ESQ.
FOR THE DEFENDANT:
DONALD PAPY, ESQ
MARK GOLDSTEIN, ESQ.
REPORTED BY:
....
ANTON B. SCHWARTZ, RPR-CP
Official Federal Court Reporter
Federal Justice Building, Ste. 1061
99 Northeast 4th Street
Miami, FL 33132 - 305/523-5118
. .
TOTAL ACCESS~ COURTROOM REALTIME T~SCRIPTIO~ /I
.,.- " JJ.
,. , ~ ..-,
t . 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
SKINNER vs CITY OF MIAMI BEACH - 02-17-99
.
3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
THE COURT: Let me call our trial.
Skinner
versus City of Miami Beach, Case No: 97-1355-CIVIL-MORENO.
On behalf of the plaintiff?
MR. KOLSKI: Steve Kolski here on behalf of the
plaintiff. I have Bill Tuttle of my office, Helen Schwartz
of my office, and Tom Skinner, the plaintiff.
MR. PAPY: Donald Papy and Mark Goldstein on
behalf of the City of Miami Beach.
THE COURT: My clerk tells me you have settled
the case. Is that true?
MR. KOLSKI: I think we have an understanding in
principle, and we would request approximately twenty
minutes to fine tune the details before I-think we might be
in a position to announce the settlement on the record
before the Court.
THE COURT: We will give you twenty minutes. We
have the jury to start.
In other words, I can't continue
the case. You either have a settlement and announce it in
open court, and it becomes a binding contract, or we have
to go to trial.
MR. PAPY: Your Honor, as you are aware, since
the City of Miami Beach is a municipality, we do have
the -- what we are here to do is announce a settlement, we
believe, that would then be announced -- excuse me -- then
be submitted to the City Commission for their approval.
SKINNER vs CITY OF MIAMI BEACH - 02-17-99
/ .
4
1 THE COURT: With a strong recommendation from.t.he
2 City?
3 MR. PAPY: From the City Attorney's Office, yes,
4 Your Bonor, as we have done in the past.
5 THE COURT: Is there any indication that the City
6 Commissioners may not agree?
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
MR. PAPY: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: I don't know if this is a hot
political subject or something like that.
MR. PAPY: No indication.
THE COURT: Or the Commissioners have expressed
an opinion or ran on this issue, and thus would have to
fulfill their obligations and vote against it because that
is why they ran. They are entitled to, but just so I know.
MR. PAPY:
THE COURT:
MR. KOLSKI:
Not to my knowledge, Your Honor.
To your knowledge?
Not to my knowledge, Your Bonor.
Mr. Papy has made representations to me that his
recommendation would support this proposed settlement and
the Commissioners would accept it.
THE COURT: Then we will give you twenty minutes
and we will be right back.
[There was a short recess].
THE COURT: We are back on Skinner versus Citi of
Miami Beach. What say you all?
SKINNER vs CITY OF MIAMI BEACH - 02-17-99
,.
5
1
MR. KOLSKI: Your Honor, Steve KalskL. ~..
2 pleased to announce that we have reached a .setll~.eJJ..:t.~,.. .._
3 the case which we will read into the record.
4 THE COURT: Please do.
5 MR. KOLSKI: Counsel for the defendant, Mark
6 Goldstein, will initially announce some preliminary
7 matters, and then I will read into the record the
8 substantive provisions of the settlement.
9 MR. PAPY: Donald Papy on behalf of the City of
10 Miami Beach.
11 We just want to state on the record, as part of
12 this agreement, that this case was brought by Lt. Skinner
13 against the City of Miami Beach under Title VII, as well as
14 several other statutes, claiming that he was denied an
. 15 appointment in September of 1996 to the position of
16 captain; that he was discriminated against because of his
17 race or nationality, and that he was the best qualified
18 person for the particular position that was eventually
19 given to Lt. Alamo, Leonard Alamo.
20 The defendant, of course, denies liability in the
21 case, denied the allegations of this, and the parties, of
22 course, are entering into this agreement with the
23 understanding that it is a compromise of a disputed claim;
24 that both parties recognize that their positions remain
25 intact, and that in order to move forward and avoid the
SKINNER vs CITY OF MIAMI BEACH - 02-17-99
6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
risk of future litigation, costs and associated matters,
that we are entering into this proposed agreement of the
case, subject again from the defendant's point of view to
the approval of the City Commission.
THE COURT: Which you will, of course, recommend
to them.
MR. PAPY: Which we will recommend to the City
Commission, yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. KOLSKI: Your Honor, Steve Kolski.
The terms of the settlement are as follows.
Point 1: Effectively immediately, William Thomas
Skinner will be compensated upon a basis equivalent to his
current and future based Lieutenant's pay on a bi-weekly
basis, plus a supplement.
The supplement will be initially calculated as
the difference between the base captain's pay.
Tom would
have been paid today as if he would have been appointed to
the rank of captain on September 20, 1996, less his current
base lieutenant's salary for each pay period.
Thereafter, the supplement will be recalculated
and adjusted whenever lieutenants or captains receive an
across the board pay raise based upon the percentage of the
applicable pay raise as applied to the figures comprising
the initial supplement as increased over time.
SKINNER vs CITY OF MIAMI BEACH - 02-17-99
~
,
, ' .
I :
7
1 It is contemplated that the amount of the
2 supplement may increase; i.e., in the event the captains
3 receive a raise or decrease; i.e., in the event lieutenants
4 receive a raise over time.
5 In the unlikely event, the captain's base salary
6 or wages is ever less than a lieutenant's base salary or
7 wages, Tom will receive at least a lieutenant's base salary
8 or wages, and he will not owe money back.
9 The supplement shall be pensionable. .The City
10 will be entitled to a credit against any supplement equal
11 to the amount of overtime earned by Tom during any period,
12 pay period, not to exceed the amount of the supplement.
13 MR. PAPY: If I might, the first words of this
14 were effective immediately, and, of course, this is all
15 subject to Commission approval of it.
16 MR. KOLSKI: I think, Your Honor, the concept is
17 it would be, if the Commission does approve the settlement,
18 the payments and other terms of this settlement will apply
19 retroactively to today.
20 MR. PAPY: That is correct.
21 MR. KOLSKI: Point 2 of the settlement is as
22 follows:
23 Tom shall be provided with an unmarked City
24 automobile, which he may use for City and personal use
25 without restriction to the same extent that captains may
SKINNER vs CITY OF MIAMI BEACH - 02-17-99
.
. , ,.~ .
8
1 use their vehicles from this point forward, and this
2 vehicle will be provided without cost to him.
3 Tom will return his FOP automobile. At all
4 times, the unmarked City automobile will be equivalent of
5 the City vehicle provided to captains.
6 Alternatively, if the City cannot provide the
7 unmarked City automobile for any reason, then the City will
8 pay Tom a car allowance of $300 per month, if captains
9 continue to be permitted to use their vehicle for personal
10 use.
11 Effective immediately, this is Point 3, effective
12 immediately, Tom shall receive all administrative days
13 afforded to captains, if any.
14 Point 4: Tom and his attorneys shall be granted
15 entitlement effective this date to recover all reasonable
16 attorney's fees and costs incurred associated with these
17 proceedings from the date of the filing of the EEOC claim,
18 through the date of the determination of the cost and fees
19 with the amount either later agreed to between parties and
20 counselor determined by the Court.
21 Absent agreement of the parties as to the amount
22 of fees and costs within fifteen days of Commission
23 approval, the parties agree to mediate the dispute, and if
24 no agreement is reached, the amount will be determined by
25 the Court.
SKINNER vs CITY OF MIAMI BEACH - 02-17-99
.
." '-."
~-
l
9
1
Point 5: The City will not retaliate against Tom
2 as defined in Title VII in his future employment with the
3 City.
4
Point 6: Settlement will be announced in Court
5 today subject to City of Miami Beach Commission approval.
6 The City Attorney's Office will recommend
7 settlement to the Commission on the terms and conditions
8 announced today.
9 A joint request to continue today's trial will be
10 made, and I apologize, this is somewhat redundant, to
11 permit the City Commission to consider approval.
12 If the City Commission fails to approve this
13 settlement in sixty days, plaintiff will notify the Court
14 and the entire case will be tried on the next available
15 trial calendar.
16
Point 7: This settlement is without prejudice to
17 Tom's pending retaliation charge, which charge is currently
18 pending with the EEOC.
19
Point 8: Upon approval of the settlement by the
20 City Commission, the parties stipulate to dismiss this
21 action with prejudice, with a reservation of jurisdiction
22 to enforce the terms of the party's settlement stipulation
23 announced on the record today, including entitlement and
24 enforcement of payment of any fees agreed to.
25 At this point, Your Honor, I have concluded
SKINNER vs CITY OF MIAMI BEACH - 02-17-99
,.,. I ,.
(-
10
1 announcing the substantive terms of the settlement and
2 would turn the floor over, if appropriate. I don't think
3 anybody else has anything to add.
4 THE COURT: I don't know. Does anybody?
5 MR. PAPY: No, Your Honor.
6 THE COURT: Okay. When is the next -- when is it
7 going to be on the agenda?
8 MR. PAPY: Your Honor, the next Commission
9 meeting will be, I believe, March 3 . We will attempt to
10 present it at that time.
11 The next Commission thereafter would be two
12 weeks, but we are trying to do this as promptly as
13 possible, and would like to have this all concluded.
14 THE COURT: I expect all the various settlement
15 documents to be submitted by March 24th. How is that?
16 MR. KOLSKI: That works for us, Your Honor.
17 MR. PAPY: Yes, sir.
18 THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. Have a good day.
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
SKINNER vs CITY OF MIAMI BEACH - 02-17-99
~
!. f' ~.
11
1 C E R T I F I CAT E
2 I hereby certify that the foregoing is an accurate
3 transcription of proceedings in the above-entitled matter.
4
5
DATE
ANTON B. SCHWARTZ, RPR
Official Federal Court Reporter
Federal Justice Building, Ste. 1061
99 Northeast 4th Street
Miami, FL 33132 - 305/577-4835
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.
Qua1i~y Assurance by proximi~y Linguib~~e Technologies
/~
Aec--'.
,
,/'
.
..
...t:'t./~' >,', ~,
FILED by ~ D. C.
APR 1 3 1999
CARl.OS JUf'NKE
CLERK U.S. OISl. CT.
S.D. OF Fl.A. . MIAMI
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
("":
~
:":-J
>
~
WilLIAM THOMAS SKINNER,
s
-'-'
Plaintiff ,
CASE NO.: 97-1355 CIV-MORENO
-< '-:'-!
C/; --:.::
MAGISTRATE: JUDGE TU~NQ@F
-:-; ~
c-; .;;-
,."
v.
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH,
Defendant.
/
AMENDED FINAL ORDER OF DISMISSAL
THIS CAUSE having on to be heard upon the stipulation of the parties, and upon
the Court's review of the parties' March 31, 1999 Settlement Stipulation, it is hereby:
ORDERED and ADJUDGED:
1. The parties' March 31, 1999 Settlement Stipulation it is hereby ratified,
approved and adopted as the order of this Court.
2. This Cause is DISMISSED pursuant to the terms of the parties' Settlement
Agreement. Fed.R.Civ.P.41 (a) (1) (ii).
3. This Court's March 31,1999 Final Order Of Dismissal And Order Denying
Any Pending Motions As Moot is hereby vacated only to the extent it purported to finally
dismiss this Cause.
.~~.
This Court.serves jurisdiction to enforce. parties' Settlement
: Stipulation and this Order.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at the United States District Courthouse in
1-<--
Miami, Florida, nunc pro tunc to March 31, 1999, thiSV day of April, 1999.
:::;:-->
Copies fumished:
Catlin, Saxon, Tuttle & Evans, PA
Donald M. Papy, Esq.
STIPULATION FOR THE ENTRY OF AMENDED FINAL ORDER OF DISMISSAL
The parties, through counsel, hereby stipulate to entry of the foregoing Final
Order.
By:
Miami Beach City Attorney's Office
Attorneys For Defendant
1700 Convention Center Drive
4th Floor-Legal Dept.
Miami Beach, Florida 33139
Telephone: 305-673-7470
Facsimile: 305-673-7002
Catlin, Saxon, Tuttle and Evans, PA
Attorneys for Plaintiff
1700 Dupont Building
169 East Flagler Street
Miami, Florida 33131
Telephone: 305-371-9575
Facsimile: 305-371-8011
. . a es Catlin, Jr., Esq.
ar No.: 096406
By. ~~
Fla. Bar No.: 04471