Councilman Herzberg: venue hearing set Aug. 31; amended complaint drops CFO, adds DOA

Councilman Herzberg gave the board a legal update and said a hearing on venue is scheduled for Aug. 31 in downtown court to decide whether the case should remain in Miami-Dade County or be moved to Leon County.

Herzberg said the board filed an amended complaint and removed the state CFO as a defendant "to make the case cleaner," and added the Department of Administration (DOA) through its chief judge after the CFO and attorney general filed motions to dismiss. "Right now we have a hearing set for August 31st in front of the judge in person at the courthouse in downtown regarding venue," he said.

Why it matters: venue is a threshold issue; if the court decides the case belongs in Leon County, the state's preferred forum, the court will not reach the merits. Herzberg described moving venue as a deliberate strategy to avoid spending hours on merits arguments if venue is found improper.

Details: Herzberg said the board's position is that an exception applies because the harm is occurring in Miami-Dade County and that keeping the case in Dade is important because the plaintiffs and the alleged harms are local. He said the DOA has filed a responsive motion to dismiss and the board has filed an opposing brief focused on the venue question. "Having both motions heard would require the court to hear hours of arguments," he said, adding that the team prefers a focused venue hearing first.

Next steps: the venue hearing will take place Aug. 31; if the court keeps venue in Miami-Dade the parties expect subsequent briefing and a merits-motion hearing that could be scheduled later in the fall. Herzberg said court scheduling could push a merits hearing to October at the earliest, depending on calendar availability.

No formal board action was recorded to change legal strategy at the meeting; the board members asked clarifying questions and thanked Herzberg for the update.