“Once and for all, it feels great to finally smush that cucaracha,” Fuller said in a news conference following the verdict.įuller called the verdict “a victory for the small people.”

The two were jubilant following the jury’s decision. That totals roughly $63.5 million in damages.Ĭarollo, wearing a face mask, showed no visible reaction as the verdict was read around 10 a.m.įuller and Pinilla, however, shed tears.

They ordered him to pay Pinilla $7.3 million in compensatory damages and $21.9 million in punitive damages. Jurors ordered Carollo, who represents Miami’s District 3, to pay $8.6 million in compensatory damages and $25.7 million in punitive damages. The plaintiffs, businessmen Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla, claimed that Carollo infringed on their free speech rights, alleging he used his office to harass them and damage their reputations, all because they supported his political opponent, Alfonso “Alfie” Leon, in 2017.Īttorneys for Fuller, who owns Ball and Chain, and Pinilla painted a picture throughout the trial of a commissioner who bullied anyone else who went against him. He was ordered to pay more than $60 million in damages. The decision, in which jurors found Carollo violated their First Amendment rights, came down Thursday morning. – After a marathon civil trial, a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale found Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo liable in a civil case brought by two businessmen who accused him of retaliation - and they delivered a massive monetary verdict.

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