Judge Delays Another Ruling In Suit Over Marlins Ballpark

Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Jeri Beth Cohen, presiding over auto dealer Norman Braman's lawsuit over public financing of the proposed Marlins ballpark, yesterday indicated that it "could be next week or later before she rules on whether the stadium serves a 'paramount public purpose,' as required to receive tax support," according to Charles Elmore of the PALM BEACH POST. Cohen Tuesday "put off by more than [a] month a decision on whether the public should have been able to vote on the plan," and the newest delay adds to the team's "concerns about being able to break ground for its new ballpark in November." The Marlins have said that they "must start construction in November to open" the ballpark on the old Orange Bowl site by the 2011 season (PALM BEACH POST, 7/24). In Ft. Lauderdale, Sarah Talalay reports Cohen asked attorneys for Braman, the Marlins, Miami-Dade County (FL) and the city of Miami for "additional information by Tuesday and then promised to rule within 10 days of receiving it." Cohen also set a September 15 deadline to "rule on the other outstanding issue," whether the financing "must be put to a public vote." Marlins President David Samson said that team, county and city lawyers "should be negotiating definitive agreements detailing the ballpark deal's terms, rather than at the trial he dubbed a 'horrifically inappropriate distraction.'" Samson: "It's caused delays. We haven't quantified them yet. ... From our standpoint, there's nothing in this complaint that would lead to a referendum for the baseball stadium" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 7/24). MLB President & COO Bob DuPuy, in a Q&A with the MIAMI HERALD's Clark Spencer, said of the impact of the case on the ballpark's planned opening in 2011, "The lawsuit has made opening in 2011 problematic. The increase[d] costs of construction, the continued losses in an unacceptable venue, and foregoing a year in the new ballpark are all serious and troublesome issues" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/24).

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