By Coral Gables Gazette staff

The City of Coral Gables is currently named as a party in more than two dozen active civil cases pending in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, according to a review of court filings by the Coral Gables Gazette. The cases range from sidewalk and crosswalk injury claims to collisions involving City vehicles, Sunshine Act litigation, property-rights disputes, and code enforcement actions brought by the City itself.

The reporting that produced this article prompted the Gazette to submit 36 written questions to City Attorney Cristina Suárez including the litigation docket, outside counsel selection, claims administration practices and specific pending cases.

Sidewalk and crosswalk cases

Eleven of the active cases involve allegations that City-maintained sidewalks, crosswalks, or pedestrian infrastructure were in dangerous condition at the time plaintiffs were injured.

Among the most factually developed cases is Zubillaga v. City of Coral Gables, filed in February. Marisol Linares Zubillaga, 74, alleges she fell on broken and uneven brick pavers at a mid-block crosswalk on Miracle Mile on November 23, 2024, sustaining bilateral rotator cuff tears. She has undergone right shoulder replacement surgery and faces possible left shoulder replacement. According to the complaint, a licensed contractor submitted a formal repair proposal to the City’s Public Works Department in July 2020 identifying the crosswalk as requiring repair. A City internal survey in October 2021 documented the same location as needing repair in both eastbound and westbound lanes. The City issued a purchase order for Miracle Mile paver restoration in April 2025, five months after the fall. The City has not responded to Gazette questions asking what prompted the repair order and why the crosswalk was not addressed between 2020 and 2024.

In Morales v. City of Coral Gables, plaintiff Yamilex Morales alleges she fell on a broken elevated section of sidewalk in front of 917 Alhambra Circle on April 26, 2023, fracturing her right wrist and requiring surgery. Her husband asserts a loss of consortium claim. According to court filings, plaintiff’s counsel has submitted Google Street View imagery showing the alleged defect dating to June 2013. The City has moved for summary judgment. Depositions are scheduled for May 19 and May 22. The City argues its ordinances limit its duty; plaintiffs contend City Code Sections 58-49, 58-50, and 58-51 affirmatively retain the City’s obligation to remedy unsafe sidewalks.

One sidewalk case, Espinoza v. City of Coral Gables, was settled by the City on March 16. The settlement amount has not been disclosed. A public records request seeking that figure is pending with the City’s Risk Management Department. Mediation has been scheduled for July 30 in Cifuentes v. City of Coral Gables, another sidewalk matter.

Additional sidewalk cases are pending involving incidents at locations including Sevilla Avenue, Antequera Avenue, Salzedo Street, San Juan Drive, and Andalusia Avenue. City Code Section 58-48, which establishes maintenance obligations for property owners abutting City sidewalks, is cited in multiple complaints.

Vehicle collision cases

Eight cases involve City-owned vehicles operated by City employees or officers.

Chacon v. City of Coral Gables, filed May 12, alleges that City employee Ignacio Rivera Quinones operated a City vehicle negligently on the Palmetto Expressway at SW 8th Street on May 22, 2024, causing a collision with plaintiff Yessica Chacon’s vehicle. The incident location is outside Coral Gables’ municipal boundaries. Miami-Dade County’s Risk Management Division redirected the pre-suit claim to the City of Coral Gables in June 2025. Chacon alleges serious and permanent injuries.

Salazar v. City of Coral Gables alleges that a City vehicle operated by employee Thomas Vazquez struck a minor child in a crosswalk at Fluvia Avenue and Ponce de Leon Boulevard on October 23, 2024. The case is being handled by Morgan & Morgan.

Three cases involve Coral Gables Police Department officers. Beltran v. City of Coral Gables arose from a January 28, 2024 incident in which Officer Bryant Elliott allegedly ran a red light at 1:30 a.m. and struck a civilian motorist at Bird Road. The case was dismissed with prejudice earlier this year. The nature of the dismissal has not been disclosed by the City. In its written response to Gazette questions, the City confirmed that Officer Elliott remains employed by the Coral Gables Police Department. Additional vehicle cases involve officers Alain Morency and William Vazquez, and City employees Emir Cecil Moises and Leandro Izquierdo.

Land use, contract, and property rights cases

University Green Neighbors Association, Inc. and resident Jose Val Cohen filed suit in February against the City challenging Resolution No. 2025-452, which authorized development of a standalone off-leash dog park at 520 University Drive. The complaint, filed by Homer Bonner Jacobs Ortiz, P.A., alleges the resolution was adopted at a November 18, 2025 Commission meeting with three business days’ notice and without the ordinance procedures required by Florida Statute Section 166.041 for zoning changes, including newspaper publication, multiple readings, and 30 days’ mail notice to affected property owners. The complaint also alleges violations of Florida’s Government in the Sunshine Act. The City retained Holland & Knight to defend the case. Anna Marie Gamez of Holland & Knight’s Miami office is lead counsel. Trial is scheduled for December.

On May 14, Holland & Knight filed a notice of appearance in Fresh AN LLC v. City of Coral Gables, a breach of contract case involving a Golf Club café concession renewal option with trial set for September 2026. Ms. Gamez is also lead counsel in that matter.

In its written response to Gazette questions, the City confirmed that Miriam Soler Ramos, a former City Attorney of Coral Gables, is currently a partner at Holland & Knight. The City stated she is not representing the City in any pending matters.

Bonnie Bolton has filed two related cases challenging decisions by the City’s Board of Architects and City Commission regarding a proposed nine-story mixed-use development at 110 Phoenetia Avenue. The City has sought two extensions of time to respond to the certiorari petition, with a response now due June 10.

Perez v. City of Coral Gables was filed May 6. Plaintiff Denzyl Perez alleges that the City’s planned Cooper Park enhancement project, designed by Miller Legg, would fence off the only driveway access to his landlocked property at 4916 Washington Drive. The complaint seeks an easement by necessity, an easement by prescription, and injunctive relief. The complaint attaches the City’s Cooper Park site plans as an exhibit.

City as plaintiff

The City is the plaintiff in four active enforcement cases.

City of Coral Gables v. Darling Point LLC, filed December 2024, seeks to compel repair of a 1925 historic landmark at 1129 Sevilla Avenue where the City has documented $195,417 in accrued code enforcement fines. On April 16, a court granted a stay of the City’s enforcement action.

City of Coral Gables v. Luis Properties LLC involves two historically designated structures at 117-119 Grand Avenue in the MacFarlane Homestead Subdivision. A motion to stay was filed in January 2025. The current status of that motion is unclear.

City of Coral Gables v. Evangeline Delgado involves a property at 1021 Hardee Road where the City has documented $31,458 in accrued code enforcement fines related to historic preservation violations.

City of Coral Gables v. Weitz Company LLC and AECOM, filed December 2024, seeks damages for alleged construction defects at the City’s Police and Fire Headquarters at 2151 Salzedo Street, including water intrusion, failing finishes, defective ramps, and absent fire stops.

Outside counsel and budget

The City’s outside defense counsel across the active docket includes Pozo-Diaz & Pozo, Wydler Law, Peña Garcia PLLC, HLM Legal, Fowler White Burnett, GCC Law Center and Holland & Knight. The City’s adopted FY2025-26 budget allocates $1.3 million to outside counsel — 46 percent of the City Attorney’s office’s total budget of $2.8 million — according to budget documents available on the City’s website.

Four cases in which the City of Coral Gables appears as a junior code enforcement lienholder in third-party mortgage foreclosure proceedings are not included in the active case count. Those cases do not represent adversarial exposure for the city.