Hearing On Lawsuit In Beckham Soccer Stadium Land Deal Reset
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A hearing on a lawsuit to block plans by David Beckham's group to a build a large soccer complex on publicly owned land in the City of Miami has been reset.
Tuesday's emergency hearing was set last week after a lawyer filed the suit against the city for allegedly violating its charter.
William Muir filed the suit. He claims the vote would violate the city's charter because the city did not seek any alternative, competitive bids for use of the land.
At the start of the emergency hearing, the judge gave the city seven days to respond as to why they didn't comply with specific terms of its charter.
Muir chalks up the judge's decision as a win for the people.
"I think it's a victory for the public that they were able to get a response from the city so that the city can explain why in fact they didn't follow the procedures of the charter, Muir said. "This process, there's a clear legal right that the public has to compete for sale or lease of public land"
If Muir's suit is successful it will prevent the Beckham's group plans to build their soccer complex on land currently occupied by the Melreese Country Club and Golf Course from appearing on the November ballot.
Time is a factor. If the issue is to be on the November ballot, it must be filed with the elections office by August 7th.
If voters approve, the issue goes back to the city's commission who will then hammer out the fine print of the lease agreement.
