After seven weeks of proceedings the federal civil lawsuit against City Of Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo was finally put in the hands of the jury Wednesday.
Each side gave their closing arguments Wednesday morning and the jury began to deliberate in the afternoon.
Bill Fuller, the owner of the Ball and Chain restaurant and club, filed the suit against the commissioner. He claims Carollo weaponized the city’s police and code enforcement departments to shut down several of his businesses in Little Havana because they supported his political opponent.
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The plaintiffs' attorney, Courtney Carpio, said Carollo "maliciously violated their civil rights."
Carpio said that from 2004 to 2017, Fuller and fellow plaintiff Martin Pinilla, both businessmen and real estate investors, worked hard to restore historical properties along Calle 8 and revitalize Little Havana. And she stated that all changed when Carollo took office.
In her closing, Carpio reminded the jury of the testimony of 16 witnesses for the plaintiffs, including three former police chiefs, who all testified that Carollo weaponized City of Miami departments to selectively target the plaintiffs’ businesses.
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Fuller’s wife testified her husband suffers from panic attacks and constant anguish. Pinilla told the jury he is tormented by catastrophic thoughts for fear of losing everything.
Carollo's attorney, Mason Pertnoy called the grounds for the lawsuit, the "violation of first amendment rights," a story, a fantasy.
He told the jury the plaintiffs were harassing Carollo for doing his job and showed them a series of violations where plaintiffs began to do construction work without permits and then they worked to get into compliance after being cited.
The defense argued the plaintiffs refused to follow the rules and that they did this because it was cheaper and faster.
Pertnoy said the plaintiffs did not present any evidence from experts to show emotional damages and that the plaintiffs wanted a winning lotto ticket from the jury.
The plaintiffs are asking for $10 to $20 million as compensatory damages and $20 to $40 million as punitive.
