Cincinnati Red Aroldis Chapman will have plenty to talk about when he comes to Marlins Stadium -- this new suit before Judge Altonaga that accuses him of collaborating with the Cuban government to put the plaintiff in a Cuban jail, where he has been badly mistreated and even tortured.
Here's the opening paragraph:
Plaintiff CURBELO GARCIA is a Cuban citizen, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence in Cuba, under inhumane conditions, for a crime he did not commit because of Defendants’ false denunciation to officials from the repressive Cuban Departamento de Seguridad del Estado, Departament of Security of the State, (herein after “DCSE”) and because of the false testimony Defendants presented against Plaintiff at a sham trial, which followed no rules of evidence or due process, and which was deliberately skewed against Plaintiff. Plaintiff’s treatment in prison is cruel, degrading, unsanitary, and tortuous.
In the direct appeal, Ms. Frazier relies upon a carefully-protected record on the statute of limitations evidence and on the jury instruction and verdict forms. Regarding the evidence, and in particular the speculative, clear-in-hindsight-only testimony of Dr. Schroeder, Ms. Frazier sought and obtained an appropriate order in limine, and she objected as well. Dr. Schroeder could not and did not render competent testimony about what Ms. Frazier knew or might reasonably have known regarding the “manifestations” of her Engle-eligible COPD/emphysema and the causal relationship of those manifestations to the cigarettes produced by the appellees. He violated the order in limine as his testimony ventured into what was not “manifest” in 1986 and 1987, whether to Ms. Frazier or her treating physician. The manifestations of her COPD/emphysema did not begin, on this record, until 1991, a date within the statutory limitations period.
This story about the Marlins not willing to cough up a few bits so displaced Little Havana residents can have a place to park on game day just made my blood boil:
Just last week, Miami city commissioners voted to convert four city-owned lots into parking spaces for Little Havana residents whose on-street parking was eliminated to accommodate traffic around the new Marlins Park.
The only thing missing was about $20,000 to clear the lots, install lighting and throw down some gravel, and another $20,000 or so for annual maintenance and security costs.
Speaking confidently, City Commissioner Frank Carollo stipulated that the funding would not come from city coffers. Both he and Art Noriega, executive director of the Miami Parking Authority, refused to say where they expected to get the money.
On Thursday, a dejected Carollo said he had personally appealed to the Marlins for the money, and was surprised to get a flat-out no from the team’s president, David Samson.
“Obviously I’m disappointed,” said Carollo. “We expected the Marlins were going to help.”
You expected that? Why?
Like being in an abusive relationship, Miami city commissioners keep thinking the next time will be different -- and are shocked when things unfold exactly the same way, again and again.
BTW, the concerns of animal rights activists are overblown here -- I can't think of a quieter, less populated area for these fish to be than in Marlins stadium on game day.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/29/2722543/marlins-park-neighbors-city-hit.html#storylink=cpy
Apparently, back in February of 2008, there was some sort of awards banquet with an auction in Miami. Marlins president David Samson -- who doesn't own the team, mind you -- said the first item up for bid was the Marlins and he'd sell them for $10 million, seemingly as a joke. And a man said he'd bid the $10 million, which was surely seen by everyone in attendance as furthering the joke.
Instead, Omeranz and Landsma Corporation in Florida is now suing the Marlins, believing it bought the Marlins for $10 million and that the Marlins have breached contract. Seriously, here's the court filing PDF, via Sportinlaw.com.
Surely no one hates Dave Samson's pedestrian and obvious movie reviews more than me, but is there another side to this story?
(There better be.)
Or maybe the rubes in the crowd just don't get his sophisticated sense of humor?
``It's all very explainable, because the people we negotiated with at the county and city knew everything, our banks know everything, our partners know everything,'' Samson said.
But in an e-mail exchange Tuesday with The Miami Herald, Miami-Dade spokeswoman Victoria Mallette said the county never saw the Marlins' financial records during the negotiations, although it was not surprised to hear the club made money.
Yet several members of the County Commission, who gave their final approval to the stadium's $500 million city-county funding package in March 2009, have expressed shock at the extent of the Marlins' profitability.
The problem I have with this coverage -- which includes fine Miami Herald columnists Fred Grimm and Greg Cote -- is that none of the articles provided any historical perspective to the numbers at issue.
In particular, Adam Beasley's article quotes from Dave Samson, but makes no effort to press him on contradictory statements and positions in the past taken by Marlins representatives (including Samson himself). And the reader thus has no ability to judge the present positions against the historical record.
This important historical context is not very hard to locate btw.
In fact, we covered the very question of the Marlins' financial condition when Roberto Martinez went into Judge Escharte's courtroom back in June of 2008 and specifically asked for public disclosure of that information because Dave Samson -- incredibly, in my view -- refused to answer any questions about the topic during his deposition:
The Florida Marlins and Miami-Dade County won a slight victory in court Friday when Circuit Court Judge Pedro Echarte Jr. shot down several attempts to get Marlins President David Samson to disclose the ball club's financial picture.
The two sides are readying for a July 1 court date, with auto dealer Norman Braman contending the $609 million stadium and parking garage plan -- to be built with almost $500 million of public money -- doesn't benefit the public.
On Friday, Braman attorney Bob Martinez tried to get Echarte to compel Samson to answer dozens of questions the Marlins executive had waved off when he was deposed earlier this month.
Echarte shot that down, ruling that almost all of Martinez's questions dealing with club finances weren't relevant to the trial.
When Martinez tried to get Samson to hand over projections of attendance, the judge questioned whether such figures are paramount to the public purpose of a stadium. ''I just don't see it,'' Echarte said.
Both sides will be back in court most of this week setting witness questioning and attempting to narrow the proceedings so the trial doesn't run too long. Echarte said he has vacation plans for most of July.
Here's what I wrote back then:
We've all heard Samson cry and whine on Lebby's show about how badly the Marlins are doing financially without a publicly-financed stadium in the picture, but now he refuses to answers questions at a deposition about this very topic? I guess we're stuck with his mediocre and stunningly pedestrian movie reviews instead.
I also don't get the Judge's ruling if it is based -- as it appears to be -- entirely on relevancy grounds. Something has to be completely way off-base for the entire topic to be excluded from discovery on relevancy grounds. Were there other grounds raised?
You know the drill -- peanuts and Crackerjack, America's pastime, Babe Ruth, a desperately poor city going further in depth to fund a privately-owned stadium that will be outmoded the second it opens (the county bond repayment in 2044 -- when the stadium is 30 plus years old -- will be $144 million) etc.
A Florida girl who grabbed a historic home run ball hit by Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard has her prize back after suing the team for its return.
The July home run against the Florida Marlins was Howard's 200th. He achieved that milestone in the fewest games in major league history.
After 12-year-old Jennifer Valdivia scooped up the ball, she was escorted to the Phillies clubhouse, then exchanged it for an autographed ball.
The girl's mother filed a lawsuit Monday seeking the home run ball's return. Lawyer Norm Kent says the Phillies agreed and now Jennifer has the ball back.
The Phillies declined comment on Wednesday.
Normie, helping children achieve their dreams of selling the ball on Ebay, one child at a time.
Hey, did you know that Justice O'Connor spoke to Florida legislators today? And she said something about civics being important and something that should be taught in public schools blah blah blah.
Agreed -- but let's start with teachers and books!
Anyhoo, she also said this about the insightful people that inhabit the Herald letters page:
Far more Americans can name the judges on American Idol than can name the three branches of government, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor told legislators Tuesday in a push for increased civics education.
And then she really hit below the belt:
She said surveys show that three-quarters of Americans cannot distinguish between a judge and a legislator.
''They believe that judges are politicians in robes,'' she said.
You know, I'm an attorney, and even I think that sometimes!
On a serious note, who's fault is this? Budgets are slashed, teachers are severely underpaid, and the schools suffer.
Who the hail cares -- see all 1500 of you at Marlins Stadium!
Hi folks, hope you all are having a great weekend.
I had to emerge from my weekend reveille to comment on how Miami-Dade's Ballpark has joined that annoying Facebook thingy where you have to list 25 random things about yourself:
Each alpha user annoyingly asked 25 friends to write 25 random things, too, and each of these friends' friends annoyingly asked 25 more, and so on, until this week, when the viral loop catapulted into the bizarro realm: 25 Random Things About Me, by Miami-Dade's Ballpark.
No. 2: ``None of the money used in my construction can go to other government services like education, police, public housing or parks. It's state law!''
No. 19: ``I'm ready for my close-up: I'll have some great views of the Miami skyline from the stands, which should be great for showing off the city during nationally televised games.''
No. 25: ``I'm beloved already.''
If this stadium were a person -- close-talking, unfunny, boastful but discomfitingly insecure -- you might de-friend.
And you might suspect that these Things About Me are not random at all. You might suspect that, coming a few days before the Miami and Miami-Dade County commission votes on the stadium deal, they read more like propaganda encouraging public support for a yes vote.
(Miami commissioners approved the stadium in a 3-2 vote Thursday; county commissioners will vote Monday.)
''This is not information,'' said Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, who opposes the deal. He claimed 11 of the 25 Random Things were inaccurate, and seemed unlikely to forward the list to 25 Facebook friends. ``When you put something down that says Miami-Dade County, it shouldn't just be a puff piece like this.''
No puffiness, said county spokeswoman Marie Bertot: ''It's not so much selling an idea as communicating information,'' she said. ``It's a way to disseminate accurate information and reduce those misconceptions out there.''
Oy. This is like when your Uncle crashed your high school party and tried to show all your friends how "hip" he is. And hit on your girlfriend.
Please stop.
In other news, here is another example of a governmental entity doing the wrong thing, litigating for no good reason, and having to pay a lot more as a result. By not coming to the table early and reaching a reasonable resolution, they incurred significant fees, paid a larger amount, and had to cover the plaintiffs' fees too as a result of a 3d DCA ruling on liability.
That's South Florida for you. Continue to make the same dumb mistakes and hope no one notices.
Well, it's almost Spring so enjoy this lovely seasonal ditty by Tom Lehrer and we'll see you all tomorrow!
Miami-Dade County commissioners on Tuesday are expected to dramatically loosen the rules over the government's use of the half-cent local sales tax for transportation.
Proponents inside County Hall say the government needs the additional flexibility as Mayor Carlos Alvarez's administration continues ''right-sizing'' Miami-Dade Transit with fewer workers and less bus and rail service.
But opponents say the changes represent the last chapter in a ''bait-and-switch'' with voters who supported the sales tax expecting a massive expansion in rail and bus service, synchronized traffic lights, thousands of jobs and independent citizen oversight.
''It's going to be viewed as a money grab and a bait-and-switch. There's no way around it,'' said Paul Schwiep, a Miami lawyer and appointee to the neutered oversight panel, the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust.
HAHAHAHA -- oh boy that's a knee-slapper, Paul Schwiep on a "neutered" oversight panel.
Oh man.
Hmm, now that I think of it, the laugh's on us:
As a Miami Herald series pointed out last year, instead of ''New Money for New Projects,'' the bulk of the $900 million that has been generated to date has been spent on routine transit agency operations, higher salaries and to repair the underfunded problems of yesteryear.
Proponents, including Commission Chairman Dennis Moss and Transit Committee chairwoman Barbara Jordan, say the county has tried for more than six years to fulfill all of the promises of the 2002 campaign.
Moss said the county admitted its missteps at a highly unusual daylong ''summit'' in November and that now is the time to move forward with a more realistic set of expectations for future expansion.
The problem: The county still doesn't have enough money to operate and maintain the current system without raising fares and billions of dollars in additional taxes over the next 30 years.
A handful of transportation advocates have protested the changes. They are holding out faint hopes that someone will organize a referendum to repeal the tax. But nothing formal has surfaced to date.
If the measure is approved on Tuesday, the county would:
• No longer be bound to complete the multibillion dollar list of rail, bus, road and public works projects in the People's Transportation Plan that voters approved in 2002.
• No longer have to provide a painstaking accounting of how much sales-tax money is being used by the transit agency for everything from repair parts and bug-killing contracts to office rental payments.
• Give the government a lot more flexibility in determining how to blend sales-tax revenues into the budgets of the transit agency and other county departments like public works, the 311 call center and the General Services Administration.
Who needs public transit anyways -- this is the 21st Century!! We can all fly around in jet cars, and jet packs, and -- I don't know -- horse-drawn "jet" carts?
But buried deep inside the hundreds of pages that make up the pending stadium deal are nine easy-to-miss words that form a stipulation quickly becoming known as The Death Clause.
It says if Loria dies in those seven years and the team is sold, the public's equity in the team is wiped out.
That means if Loria, 68, left the team to a relative, who then sold the ball club, the heir would get the money otherwise destined for government coffers. The amount could be in the tens of millions of dollars.
In that case, taxpayers would lose the only direct financial return on their 81 percent investment in the estimated $634 million stadium, parking and public-works project.
Hmm, that seems pretty bad. Let's hear from Hizzoner:
Through a spokeswoman, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz called the clause a ''technicality'' -- and pointed out that even if Loria dies, it doesn't necessarily mean the team would be sold within seven years.
Yeah, it's really just a bunch of letters, which form into a series of words. Who the hail cares? Besides, everyone knows mumbo-jumbo "technicalities" are totally unenforceable!
Enjoy this pretzel logic from the Roger Ebert of baseball, Dave Samson:
Loria insisted on the clause, Samson said. But the debate is much ado about nothing, he added, because he expects Loria to outlive the clause's term.
Well, if it's much ado about nothing, why insist on the clause? And if Samson's now doing Loria's actuarial tables and is so sure he's going to live more than seven years, then he should have no problem dropping the clause?
You can read Linda Carroll's lawsuit challenging the deal on Sunshine Act grounds here.
In other fun math news, I see how the planned expenditure of Miami-Dade taxes to build that spiffy new Marlins stadium will total $1.8 billion over 40 years. That's just what's planned.
This includes a whoppin' planned county bond repayment of $144 million in 2044.
So when this already obsolete stadium is 32 years old, taxpayers will still be shelling out $144 million for construction that occurred more than three decades ago.
Roberto, Roberto who can I turn to You give me something I can hold on to I know you'll think I'm like the others before Who saw your lawsuit in front of Judge Cohen Roberto I've got your number You need to save our town Roberto don't change your number 4 7 6-7 4 0 0 (4 7 6-7 4 0 0) 4 7 6-7 4 0 0 (4 7 6-7 4 0 0) Roberto, Roberto you're the only lawyer for me You don't know me but you make me so happy I tried to co-counsel with you before But I lost my nerve I tried negotiating with Bruce Greer But Judge Cohen wouldn't let me Roberto I've got your number You need to save this town Roberto don't change your number 4 7 6-7 4 0 0 (4 7 6-7 4 0 0) 4 7 6-7 4 0 0 (4 7 6-7 4 0 0) I got it (I got it), I got it I got your number on my phone I got it (I got it), I got it To save our county call Roberto don't change your number You need to save this town Roberto I've got your number 4 7 6-7 4 0 0 (4 7 6-7 4 0 0) 4 7 6-7 4 0 0 (4 7 6-7 4 0 0)
So, how many of you woke up this morning and found out you were a Super Lawyer? Ahhh, that packet is so cute!
I'm shocked -- shocked -- to learn that the County did not negotiate a very good deal to spend hundreds of millions of tax dollars building a new stadium for the Marlins:
''It's probably not the best deal that has ever been worked out between a community and a team,'' Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez said after his State of the County speech on Tuesday.
You think?
Just ask this lady, after learning of an additional $56 million slashed from the schools budget, which has already suffered more than $300 million in cuts this year alone:
Linda Cohen, a 55-year-old reading teacher at North Miami Beach Senior High School, said the plan was ``insult to injury.''
''We're not just talking about two days,'' said Cohen, whose home was foreclosed on two weeks ago. ``We're talking about what it's doing to our families all over the county.''
''With a Wall Street Journal headline this morning saying it's the worst economy with no help in sight, how could anyone even think of spending these type of dollars for a for-profit business?''
So now Judge Cohen gets to deliver the final blow, given that the Florida Supremes have finally ruled on that community redevelopment monies case from Escambia County. Hooray!
The clear result: better schools, more roads, vitally needed money for police, fire and city services, and of course more money for the homeless -- all by spending hundreds of millions on a baseball stadium for a financially-shaky and unpopular privately-owned baseball team:
Replied Diaz: "Everyone's focused on baseball. But the reality here is, it is really about affordable housing and infrastructure, and parks and the homeless.''
HAHAHAHAHA, boy that mayor of ours really knows how to tell a joke!
Oh fudge it, I'm going windsurfing. If I can drag myself back to the office later maybe I'll check in on you all and possibly even do some legal work, but if I don't all you ham-and-eggers, kingmakers, and other masters of the universe have a great weekend.
