MIAMI — A U.S. Court of Appeals made a ruling on Thursday regarding an appeal made by Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo in his case against two Miami businessmen.
The court affirmed a decision made in district court to deny Carollo’s motion for a mistrial. Additionally, it also dismissed the rest of Carollo’s appeal for “lack of appellate jurisdiction.”
This comes in the wake of a $63.5 million ruling for businessmen William Fuller and Martin Pinilla, who own Ball & Chain in Little Havana.
In that case, a federal jury found that Carollo violated Fuller and Pinilla’s rights by weaponizing city resources in order to retaliate against them for supporting a political opponent of Carollo’s.
Fuller and Pinilla released a joint statement following Thursday’s ruling, which read:
“We are encouraged but not surprised by the U.S. Court of Appeals’ clear rejection of Joe Carollo’s baseless appeal. The court’s sharp questioning and the overwhelming evidence presented at trial reaffirm what we have maintained from day one: Carollo abused his public office to wage a relentless campaign of political retaliation against us simply because we supported his opponent.
“For years, he weaponized city resources to intimidate, harass, and try to destroy our businesses and reputations. A federal jury saw through that and awarded us a historic verdict. Now, the appellate court has all but confirmed that the ruling will stand.
“This isn’t just a legal victory—it’s a win for every resident and business owner who believes in fairness, democracy, and the First Amendment. We’re grateful to our families, legal team, and the community that stood by us through years of this abuse of power.
“We look forward to putting this chapter behind us and continuing our work to uplift Little Havana.”
Currently, both men are suing Carollo in federal court again. This time its for $2.4 million in damages.
Local 10 News also reached out to Carollo and the city for comment, but did not hear back by the time of this story’s publication.
“This brings to an end an ugly period in Miami city government and we will now proceed to (collect) that judgment from both the Commissioner and the insurers for the City who enabled the conduct by paying the legal fees and continuing to insure the Commissioner for so many years,” attorney Jeff Gutches, who is representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement.
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