September
5, 2013
Senator Marco Rubio
Attn:
Leonard Collins, General Counsel
317
Senate Hart Office Building
Washington
DC, 20510
Dear
Senator Rubio,
We applaud you for standing up to ensure that we in
Florida have the best Federal Judges we can. We adamantly oppose
Judge William Lewis Thomas (“Judge Thomas”) for any position as a
South Florida Federal District Court Judge for several reasons. Our
analysis, reasoning, observations, and decision are not based upon
the color of his skin, his heritage, his religious background, his
sexual preferences or his political affiliations. We do not
discriminate. Simply put Judge Thomas is not Federal District Court
Judge material for the reasons that follow.
First, merely looking at Judge Thomas’ Questionnaire
for Judicial Nominees shows that Judge Thomas is not qualified.
Judge Thomas is not published, has never written a judicial opinion,
and has only been a Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge since November of
2004. Most of his tenure was in the criminal division with only three
years on the civil bench. There are far more qualified individuals
for the position than Judge Thomas, including the two other
submissions to President Obama.
Second, Judge Thomas is well known for “shooting from
the hip” and is harmful as a result causing the citizens that have
been before him in civil cases to wonder about our judicial system.
He prejudges cases then ensures that his pick wins rather than
showing neutrality. He does not follow court
precedent of superior courts, court rules, or statutes when ruling.
Judge Thomas simply ignores them and dispenses what we call Thomas’
law. Judge Thomas shows ineptness and an inability to act as an
impartial jurist while presiding over civil cases. We have no
experience with him in criminal cases other than we know he has been
overturned by an appellate court multiple times.
Third, Judges should be neutral and impartial in all
respects. Judge Thomas is not. He shows political favor when he deems
it necessary to further his career. We know as we were in a case
where this occurred as we explain below. We believe that Judge
Thomas’ appointment was politically motivated rather than the
appointment of the most qualified candidate, which we explain
further. We believe it was a favor for a favor appointment.
We were involved in a case before Judge Thomas styled
Green East #2, LTD. v. Florida Action Films,
Inc., et al. The case number is 06-1613 CA 2
pending in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court. Judge Thomas presided
over the case the whole time he was assigned to the general civil
division.
We own three companies. Two of the companies simply own
the property that we ran our third company on. Since 1979, we have
run a mom and pop company on one or both of the properties. We run
and own currently a company called Ted Vernon Specialty Automobiles,
Inc. (“TVSA”). TVSA sells classical cars and ran its business on
the two properties owned by our other companies. For 32 years, we
have run one company or another on the properties including TVSA
since 1990 and never had a problem with access and always had the
same point of entry and access since day one.
Adjacent to our properties is a large shopping center
owned by Green East #2, LTD. (“Green East”). Part of Green East’s
property is a roadway that separates the properties. Pursuant to two
deeds, one from 1935 and the other from 1939, we have the right, our
successors and predecessors have and will always have the right to
use this private roadway to access our properties and businesses.
Further, in 1957 two judges (Judges Giblin and Crawford) entered
Final Orders and two mandatory injunctions precluding the then owners
and its successors (Green East) from blocking the roadway and access
to our property. We have attached those two orders to this letter as
Exhibits 1 and 2. Both orders were appealed. One to Florida’s
Supreme Court and the other to Florida’s Third District Court of
Appeals. Both appeals were dismissed without opinion and still stand.
They have never been extinguished by any means giving us the absolute
right to access our properties.
These orders were not allowed by Judge Thomas to come
into our case as evidence as our right to an easement to access or
property. Why? Keep reading-
In 2004, Green East made plans to demolish its shopping
center in order to build multiple high-rise buildings at an estimated
cost of $400 million dollars, plans were submitted including the
property in which we sat and operated daily. According to renderings
and plans we obtained Green East needed the roadway and our
companies’ properties in order to carry out its plans. Thus, our
problems began.
Green East initially, in 2006, filed a two-count
complaint which counts were trespass damages (Count I) and injunctive
relief for trespass (Count II) claiming that we were trespassers on
limited portions of its property.(The Giblin and Crawford order) In
2007, Green East filed an amended complaint with four counts, which
were Count I (Breach of Lease), Count II (Tenant Removal), Count III
(Trespass Damages), and Count IV (Injunctive Relief). Green East was
pleading in the alternative and was now claiming there was a valid
lease, which based on its own Amended Complaint showed it was time
barred by laches and the statute of limitations, and that did not
contain two witness’ signatures of Green East, and was not signed
by Green East or any of its General Partners. The lease expired in
1994 and was between a company that was owned by us but was properly
dissolved through the state of Florida in 1990 and had paid off the
lease. Nobody signed a personal guarantee for the lease. Green East
claimed we were holdover tenants
on property that was vacated in
1990 and we supplied the court with Green East’s Interdepartmental
letters trying to rent us this same vacant parking area in 1996 as
well as satellite photos showing same.
Green East had pled three different
coexistent but inconsistent remedies for the same alleged wrongs. One
in equity for injunctive relief claiming no adequate remedy at law
and two inconsistent remedies at law which were for trespass damages
or in the alternative for lease damages.
Ultimately, on March 10, 2009, Judge Thomas new to the
general civil division (he was there approximately one month) entered
a final judgment in the case finding injunctive relief was the
appropriate remedy over the other two remedies which final judgment
was appealed to the Third District Court of Appeal and was affirmed
with written opinion. See Florida Action
Films, Inc. v. Green East No. 2, Ltd., 29
So.3d 471 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010). We have attached the opinion to this
letter as Exhibit 3.The Third DCA found the judgment to be a final
judgment.
Even though a FINAL JUDGMENT had been entered, Judge
Thomas now insisted to proceed with the case on the other two
alternative remedies, which were for trespass damages and breach of
lease, which makes no sense to us at all. Who in the world could
possibly even believe you could be a trespasser who is entitled to
injunctive relief and at the same time be a lessor during the same
time period, based upon the same parties, on the same property
related to the same occurrences? Basically you cannot be a trespasser
and at the same time be a renter, during the same time period on the
same properties based upon the same occurrences. Judge Thomas
believes you can be which shows his ineptness. To us he lacks a basic
understanding of the law in civil cases. (Thomas is ignoring the
Giblin order, Crawford order and deeds, how can we trespass when we
have every right to access our property)
Ultimately, Judge Thomas after the appeal and affirmance
enters a second final judgment
in the case and now awards Green East lease damages and at the same
time trespass damages for the same time period, based upon the same
parties, on the same property related to the same occurrences. If we
were found to be holdover tenants and charged for rents, how can we
then be trespassers and charged two times for the same alleged
wrongs? The second final judgment is attached as Exhibit 10. How
could this possibly be? This is what we call Thomas’ law. These
matters are currently pending before Florida’s Supreme Court. It is
our understanding that once a final judgment has been entered in a
case and an appellate court affirms the judgment that a court loses
jurisdiction over the matter other than to enforce the judgment. A
court cannot enter a second final judgment, which contradicts the
first final judgment or can they? Judge Thomas believes you can. We
repeatedly object to this to no avail. Multiple times, we argued the
election of remedies doctrine to a deaf ear.
Now back to why this was done and why we believe Judge
Thomas’ appointment was a favor for favor appointment. Terranova
Corp. (“Terranova”), is owned by Stephen Bittel who is well
connected to President Obama and is invited frequently to Washington
were he has met with the President. One such meeting was a dinner
with the President and German Chancellor Merkel with other
dignitaries. Attached as Exhibit 4 is a list of the invitees and Mr.
Bittel is on the list. We have highlighted his name. We have been
collecting pictures of Mr. Bittel with the President and members of
his administration and have these pictures with commentary.
Further, Mr. Bittel is a large contributor to the
Democratic Party and was instrumental in helping President Obama
become reelected to a second term. Mr. Bittel is very close to Rep.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz who is the chairwoman of the Democratic
National Committee. It is reported that Mr. Bittel and Rep. Wasserman
frequently text, call or email each other day and night. We have
attached as Exhibits 5 and 6 two articles, which more fully explain
the aforementioned relationship. We have highlighted certain portions
of them.
Mr. Bittel’s company Terranova manages Green East’s
property. Further, Mr. Bittel is also one of the partners of Green
East and stood to make substantial sums of money if the development
were to occur. Mr. Bittel ran the litigation for Green East not as an
attorney but as management and a partner related to our case. He
frequently attended all critical hearings to make his presence known.
Throughout the proceedings, we received one after
another inept rulings from Judge Thomas who continually ignored court
precedent of superior courts, court rules or statutes. We are
documenting them in case you may need them including the motions and
transcripts related to them. However, we will explain to you one such
ruling related to Mr. Bittel.
Mr. Bittel was to act as Green East’s expert at the
second trial including for the computation of trespass damages. When
we received the expert disclosures, our expert realized that Mr.
Bittel had computed trespass damages on a gross rent basis contrary
to Florida Supreme Court and Third DCA precedent. See Kester
v. Bostwick, 153 Fla. 437, 445-446 (Fla.
1943) (“Net rents and profits have reference to a fair rental value
less the cost of rental and collection…”)
and Grossman v. Sea Air Towers, Ltd.,
1986 Fla. App. LEXIS 9007 at *7 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)
(“Instead such damages are computed by
subtracting from rental income, which is lost as a direct result of
the defendant's tortious conduct, all operating expenses which are
ordinarily incurred in producing that income.”). We have attached
to this letter both opinions as Exhibits 7 and 8, which we have
highlighted. There is no contrary authority we can find in this
state.
After multiple hearings on this issue, Judge Thomas made
one of his Thomas law rulings finding that expenses should not be
taken into consideration when computing trespass damages. Attached,
as Exhibit 9 is Judge Thomas’ order. In other words, they had to be
computed on a gross basis as Mr. Bittel had done. This was done after
we presented multiple times to Judge Thomas the two above-mentioned
cases related to trespass damages. In addition, over our objections,
Judge Thomas allowed Mr. Bittel to testify that Green East was also
entitled to trespass damages on the easement area’s that Judge
Giblin, Judge Crawford and Judge Thomas had ruled that we have the
right to use for ingress and egress. Mr. Bittel testified at his
deposition that Green East was entitled to charge a toll for the use
of the roadway to access our properties. Judge Thomas agreed. There
is no law that supports this. It is again Thomas law.
Further, throughout the proceedings when Green East
wanted a special set hearing it was able to obtain one immediately.
When we say immediately, we mean with in one to three days. On the
other hand, when we requested a special set hearing we were never
able to obtain one. All requests and dates are documented. We believe
this shows Judge Thomas’ propensity for bias in a case.
Because of the above and Judge Thomas refusing to
enforce the mandate from Third DCA, his final judgment or Judge
Giblin and Judge Crawford’s final judgments we had to vacate the
property we hold title to. In this regards Judge Thomas turned a
blind eye to orders from a higher court and allowed Green East to
block any access to our properties we rightfully had by deeds and
court orders. We had no choice but to move TVSA to another location.
We have spent over $1,500,000.00 defending our property and our
Constitutional rights and now have a judicially landlocked commercial
property in Miami. Worse we and our invitees are under an injunction
and are deemed as trespassing and are fined for this each and every
time. We shut our doors to a thriving family business due to Judge
Thomas’ biased rulings. The entire World can access the roadway but
the one who has Higher court’s ruling is fined, burdened with an
injunction and my property devalued because one Judge rules in favor
of the politically connected opponent.
We believe strongly that Judge Thomas’ appointment was
a favor for a favor appointment as already mentioned. Judge Thomas
throughout the proceedings was bending over backwards for Mr. Bittel
and Green East to accommodate their every wish. For this obvious,
documented, favoritism, we believe that in turn Mr. Bittel has helped
Judge Thomas first to be select as one of the three judges to be
presented to you and Senator Nelson. We believe that Mr. Bittel is
instrumental in swaying President Obama to choose Judge Thomas as his
selection either directly or indirectly through his contacts.
We are committed to taking whatever actions are
necessary including testifying before congress or the judicial
committee as necessary to ensure that Judge Thomas does not become a
federal judge. Our expert is also willing to testify. We are
committed to providing you with whatever information you may need in
this regard.
We appreciate and thank you for your consideration and
time.
Best Regards,
Robin Ziel
