(Miami, FL.) – Circuit Judge Peter Lopez ruled for the City of Miami today, granting its motion to set aside the $7 million settlement in the fire rescue assessment class action voted on by the City Commission in late 2004.

The Judge’s ruling will void the $7 million settlement and the City will not be required to make the remaining payment. The individuals and attorneys who received money from the first $3.5 million payment are required to return, in full, the money. The money will be placed in a special account pending the resolution of the class action, which remains an active case.

The City Commission approved the settlement in 2004 with the understanding that the settlement was for the entire class of property owners, rather than the few individuals who filed suit on behalf of the entire class. The new position taken by the individual plaintiffs and their attorneys came to light before Judge Lopez during a February, 2005 hearing. Immediately following this, the City Commission approved the hiring of outside counsel to get the settlement set aside and get the money returned. The Judge’s ruling supports the position taken by the Mayor, City Commissioners, City Manager, and the City Attorney- that the plaintiffs and their attorneys improperly used the class as leverage to broker a $7 million settlement deal which they later claimed was only for themselves and not the class, effectively abandoning the class and attempting to avoid judicial review of the reasonableness of the settlement.

Judge Lopez’s ruling protects the class of property owners who paid a fire rescue assessment, and also the City of Miami taxpayers.

The class action originally filed in 1998 remains pending, and new class counsel represents the entire class of property owners.

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Read Judge Peter Lopez’s Ruling