Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava鈥檚 office said a judge鈥檚 ruling Wednesday will not deter the County from evicting from its Biscayne Bay location.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Barket denied the County鈥檚 effort for immediate eviction and ordered the parties to keep an Oct. 21 mediation scheduled to hash out their differences.
Levine Cava鈥檚 office said the issue in front of Barket only was limited 鈥� Seaquarium鈥檚 failure to make timely payments on its lease. 鈥淚t does not impact the County鈥檚 ability to continue to seek eviction in this case,鈥� according to a statement from the mayor鈥檚 office.
鈥淭he County remains confident in our legal basis to continue seeking eviction, and we are considering our next steps related to the court鈥檚 decision today,鈥� the statement concluded.
Miami Seaquarium 鈥� nor the owner of its operating company 鈥� made any statement on social media about the eviction effort. It did return an email seeking comment.
Miami-Dade County assistant attorneys asked Barket to grant a default final judgment and immediate possession of property for the violation of the lease for lack of a $88,000 timely payment.
Granting the County鈥檚 motion would be 鈥渄isastrous for everyone,鈥� said Seaquarium鈥檚 attorney Hilton Napoleon II in a motion filed before the hearing.
鈥淥ver 200 people will lose their jobs, over 1000 animals and mammals 鈥� many of them endangered or protected species 鈥� will likely perish, an iconic theme park with 70 years of history will close immediately, and the County will have to explain to its constituents why it caused so much damage,鈥� he wrote.
Napoleon previously told the Independent that the real motivation behind the eviction is so the County can seize the valuable land where the park has operated for 69 years.
Miami Seaquarium is operated by The Dolphin Co., which in turn is owned by MS Leisure Corp. Miami-Dade County served the parties , saying the Virginia Key park鈥檚 crumbling state and repeated federal violations in the care of its animals justified the action.
The USDA had cited the park in the last six months before the eviction announcement for numerous violations, including allowing animals to languish ill or injured. The death of Lolita, the killer orca whale in captivity at Seaquarium since 1972, made headlines worldwide. blamed her death on a lack of adequate care.
鈥淭he current state of the Miami Seaquarium is unsustainable and unsafe,鈥� Levine Cava said at a news conference in March.
Napoleon, in Seaquarium鈥檚 pleading, told the judge that the $83,000 rent payment at the center of arguments on Wednesday was only 12 hours late. The County violated the lease agreement and has no plan to care for them if it takes over the facility, he wrote.
鈥淭he County refuses to issue any building permits to MS Leisure in order to repair the Seaquarium鈥檚 crumbling infrastructure,鈥� he wrote.
This story was originally published in the Key Biscayne Independent, a 港澳天下彩News partner.
