Jose L. Arango – Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman

Florida Law Update: Senate Bill 60 – County and Municipal Code Enforcement

Jose L. Arango — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:54:39 +0000

On June 29, 2021, CS/SB 60 was signed by Governor DeSantis, becoming effective on July 1, 2021. As of its effective date, municipal and county code inspectors are prohibited from initiating investigations on code violation complaints that were submitted anonymously. Any person who submits such a complaint must provide his or her name and address to the pertinent local government before an investigation occurs. However, this prohibition does not apply if the code inspector has reason to believe that the violation presents an imminent threat to public health, safety, or welfare or imminent destruction of habitat or sensitive resources.

In light of the new law, all code enforcement personnel should be briefed accordingly so that they may make necessary changes in operating procedures.

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Florida Case Law Update: Evaluating Constitutional Compliance of Fire Fees in Utility Bills

Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 15:29:36 +0000

Yesterday, the Florida Supreme Court declined to review a very important case regarding the billing of fire fees on utility bills. In Discount Sleep of Ocala, LLC, et al. v. City of Ocala (2020), the 5th District Court of Appeal ruled in favor of a class of plaintiffs who challenged the constitutionality of the City of Ocala’s (the “City”) fire service fee. The Fifth District’s decision now becomes final based upon the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to decline review.

As background, between 2006 and 2010 the City enacted a fire service fee that was intended to offset a portion of the general operating costs of the City’s fire department. The Appellants, after being certified as a class, filed suit alleging that the fee was actually an unconstitutional tax and sought an order requiring a class-wide refund. Ultimately the trial court ruled in favor of the City, concluding that the fire service fee was not a tax and this appeal followed.

In this appeal, the Court examined whether the City’s fire service fee is a valid user fee or an unconstitutional tax. The Court analyzed 3 prongs which distinguished a valid user fee from a tax: (1) whether the charge is in exchange for a particular governmental service, (2) whether the service benefits the party paying the fee in a manner not shared by other members of society, and (3) whether the fee is paid by choice.

As to the first prong, the Fifth District Court of Appeals concluded that the fee was a charge not paid in exchange for a service, nor authorized by statute, and used to fund services typically funded by ad valorem taxes. As to the second prong, the Court found that the class members did receive a special benefit apart from the rest of society (ex. lower insurance premiums). And, finally, as to the third prong, the Court found that there was no reasonable choice to opt out of the fee in that either the class members had to disconnect from the City’s water, sewer, and electric services, or move outside of the City. Also, the Court noted that the fee, when charged, was bundled together with other City utility fees, which would coerce involuntary payment.

Based on the foregoing, the Fifth District determined that the City’s fire service fee was an unconstitutional tax and the case was remanded for purposes of establishing a manner to refund the illegally collected fees.

In light of the Court’s ruling in this case, if your local government is currently billing fire fees on utility bills, you should carefully review the situation and consider whether to change the manner by which you are collecting fire revenues. The Fifth Circuit decision did not address the propriety of collecting revenues for fire services through special assessments, which have previously been approved by multiple Florida courts.

The information contained in this document does not constitute legal advice.

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Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman Announces New Partners

Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 14:29:56 +0000

Attorneys Jose Arango, Brooke Ehrlich, Michael Kantor and Haydee Sera receive promotions

Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, P.L. has announced four new partners at the law firm. Attorneys Jose Arango, Brooke Ehrlich, Michael Kantor and Haydee Sera earned the promotions at the end of 2019.

Part of the firm’s Government Division, Arango is based in the Coral Gables office. He focuses on code enforcement, building code issues, and general government law. Arango also has extensive experience drafting legislation and amendments to municipal codes, authoring legal opinions for municipalities and drafting municipal contracts including land use and professional services agreements.

Ehrlich is based in the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office and is part of its Labor and Employment Law practice. She specializes in employment litigation, labor law, and commercial litigation. Ehrlich advises local governments and corporate clients with respect to employee discipline, retention and termination, employment manuals and policies, and contract interpretation.

Kantor is also based in the Fort Lauderdale office and focuses on Labor and Employment matters. In that field, he handles discrimination charges and lawsuits brought against public and private entities pursuant to state and federal anti-discrimination and wage and hour laws. Kantor also litigates unfair competition cases involving enforcement of non-compete agreements and misappropriation of trade secrets.

Sera is an attorney in the firm’s Government Division practice and based in the Coral Gables office. She provides general representation to municipalities on a broad range of issues such as elections, ethics, public records and Sunshine Law. As counsel to local municipalities, Sera drafts and reviews proposed legislation, resolutions and agreements on a variety of matters.

“These four attorneys are passionate about serving their clients and broader communities,” firm Managing Director Mitchell Burnstein said. “We greatly appreciate their dedication to the firm and are thrilled to name them as new partners.”

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Firm Sponsors Cuban American Bar Association’s Judicial Luncheon

Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 01:50:26 +0000

Last week the firm sponsored and had a great time at the Cuban American Bar Association’s Judicial Luncheon at the Ritz Carlton in Coconut Grove. Pictured here from left to right: Dan Espino, Ed Guedes, Haydee Sera, Ed Martos and Jose Arango. Haydee is on the Board of Directors of CABA.

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Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman Receives Law Firm of the Year Award from the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 04:16:53 +0000

On November 2, 2018, the firm was honored to receive the “Law Firm of the Year” award from the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Partner Dan Espino accepted the award on behalf of our firm, along with firm members, Lilly Arango and Ed Guedes, and firm attorneys Maria Currais, Haydee Sera, Justin Luger and Jose Arango. The event took place at the Ritz-Carlton resort in Key Biscayne. The Sunshine Awards are awarded to companies for “their leadership, contributions, successes, and participation & involvement in the Hispanic community.”

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Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman Sponsors LBA Awards

Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 05:29:23 +0000

Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman were very proud to sponsor and have many of our attorneys attend the Latin Builders Association Awards event on September 29th at the Hilton Downtown in Miami. Pictured from Left-Right are: Cliff Schulman, Alex Uribe, Joe Hernandez, Ed Martos, Dan Espino, and Jose Arango.

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Justin Luger, Haydee Sera, and Jose Arango participate in Speed Mentoring Event for Hispanic National Bar Association

Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 06:19:27 +0000

Associates Justin Luger, Haydee Sera, and Jose Arango participated in the Speed Mentoring Event for the Hispanic National Bar Association’s South Florida Mentoring Program that was held at the University of Miami Donna E. Shalala Student Center where over 60 students and 60 attorneys participated.

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