Item S2 S.2
County of Monroe P W
;� w 1rJ� BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
r,�� Mayor Craig Cates,District 1
The Florida Keys Mayor Pro Tem Holly Merrill Raschein,District 5
y Michelle Lincoln,District 2
James K.Scholl,District 3
Ij David Rice,District 4
County Commission Meeting
February 15, 2023
Agenda Item Number: S.2
Agenda Item Summary #11744
BULK ITEM: No DEPARTMENT: County Attorney's Office
TIME APPROXIMATE: STAFF CONTACT: Bob Shillinger(305) 292-3470
N/A
AGENDA ITEM WORDING: Approval of settlement agreement in the case of Monroe County v.
Coher and Coher Invest. Co. Ltd., Case No. 18-CA-674-P and authorization for the County
Attorney to execute settlement agreement and other necessary documents.
ITEM BACKGROUND: This property, owned by Coher & Coher Investment, Ltd., (Coker) has
been the subject of code compliance cases for failure to hook up to central sewer. This property is
comprised of five (5) buildings. Each building has two (2) residential units on the upper level and
two (2) commercial units on the lower-- twenty (20) units in total. Each building has been assigned
two (2) real estate numbers ranging from 00468471- 007501 to 00468471-007510, resulting in ten
(10)real estate numbers in total. Therefore, ten (10) code cases ensued.
On 9/29/16, the Special Magistrate found the property in violation and ordered a compliance date of
12/29/16. The property owner did not gain compliance, the fines began to accrue, and the County's
liens were recorded on 1/5/17.
On 12/18/19 all units were brought into compliance. The total fine for all cases and costs were
$1,022,822.18. The Defendant was able to gain compliance by applying for and being issued one
permit to resolve all ten (10) code compliance cases. As a result, at a closed session held 6/16/21,
the Board discussed a settlement offer presented by Coher for a reduction of the outstanding fines.
A Settlement Agreement was previously agreed to and entered between the County and Coher. That
original Settlement Agreement required Coher to pay $36,986.09, with $15,000 paid immediately
upon approval by the BOCC and then equal monthly installments until the balance was paid in full.
If Coher failed to pay the full amount within one year of entry of the settlement, the fine would
revert to the full $1,022,822.18. Coher paid the initial $15,000, plus two monthly payments of
$1875, for a total of $18,670. Coher failed to make full payment within one year, so the fine has
reverted to the original amount.
The County Attorney's Office and Coher have negotiated a Second Settlement Agreement (attached
as backup). Under the proposed Second Settlement Agreement, Coher would pay $40,000 in total to
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resolve the litigation and satisfy the ten (10) code liens. Since Coher has paid $18,670, the
remaining payment would be $21,330.
The County Attorney's Office seeks approval of the Second Settlement Agreement and authority to
execute all settlement documents.
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION:
07/19/17: Agenda Item N2 Approved: Authority to initiate litigation regarding CE16020087;
CE1602017; CE16020176; CE16020194; CE16020196; CE16020205; CE16020211; CE16020212;
CE16040068 and CE16010058.
06/16/21: Closed Session.
08/18/21: Original Settlement Agreement approved.
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES:
N/A
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval.
DOCUMENTATION:
Settlement Agreement(executed by PO)
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Effective Date: 1/18/2023
Expiration Date:
Total Dollar Value of Contract: Payment of$100,000 to County
Total Cost to County:
Current Year Portion:
Budgeted: Yes
Source of Funds:
CPI:
Indirect Costs:
Estimated Ongoing Costs Not Included in above dollar amounts:
Revenue Producing: If yes, amount: $100,000
Grant: No
County Match: No
Insurance Required: No
Additional Details:
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REVIEWED BY:
Kelly Dugan Completed 02/07/2023 8:32 AM
Bob Shillinger Completed 02/07/2023 9:41 AM
Purchasing Completed 02/07/2023 9:45 AM
Budget and Finance Completed 02/07/2023 9:52 AM
Brian Bradley Completed 02/07/2023 10:56 AM
Lindsey Ballard Completed 02/07/2023 11:03 AM
Board of County Commissioners Pending 02/15/2023 9:00 AM
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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 16"' JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA a political
subdivision of the State of Florida, c
Plaintiff, Case No.:18-CA-674-P
V. Hon. Luis M. Garcia
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COHER AND COHER INVEST CO., LTD, U
Defendant.
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SECOND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
Plaintiff, Monroe County, Florida, (the County) a political subdivision of the State of
Florida, and Defendant, Coher & Coher Invest Co., Ltd., hereby agree to settle the existing code
enforcement liens imposed by the Special Magistrate regarding real property located at, 103100
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Overseas Highway, Units 1-10, Key Largo, Florida, as follows:
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1. The County brought ten(10)code enforcement cases in 2016 against the Defendant
for failure to connect ten (10) units to the central sewer. Those County Code Case Numbers are
as follows:
CE16040068 CE16020212 CE16020211 CE16020205 CE16020194
CE16020196 CE16020172 CE16010058 CE16020087 CE16020176
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2. Defendant currently owns the property.
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3. The current fine total for all cases combined is $1,092,911.09, with statutory costs
of$9,911.09, for a total due from Defendants of$1,102,822.18.
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4. The parties previously entered into a Settlement Agreement, signed by Defendant's
representative on July 22, 2021, and on behalf of the County on August 25, 2021.
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5. Pursuant to the terms of the first Settlement Agreement, Defendant agreed to pay a
total of$36,986.09. Defendant agreed to pay $15,000 immediately, followed by equal monthly U
installments until paid in full, within one year of the date of the Settlement Agreement. ®'
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6. The Settlement Agreement also stated: "If the Property Owner fails to timely pay,
in full, the remaining balance within one year of this Agreement, the fine will revert back to the
full amount stated..., less monies received by the County." U
7. Defendant paid the immediate $15,000, plus two monthly payments of$183 5.00.
Defendant has paid, in total, $18,670.00. Defendant did not complete payments within one year U
of the execution of the first Settlement Agreement.
8. The County filed a Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement in Circuit Court on
December 30, 2022.
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9. The parties agree to a total settlement amount of$40,000.00. Since Defendant has
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already paid $18,670.00, Defendant agrees to pay an additional $21,330.00. CL
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10. Defendant agrees to pay the $21,330.00, in full, within 15 days of this Second ,
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Settlement Agreement. Payment shall be made to:Monroe County Code Compliance,Attn:Nicole Cr
Petrick, 2798 Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL 33050.
11. Once the full outstanding payment is received, the County agrees, within 30 days,
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a. Issue a release and satisfaction of the ten (10) liens recorded for the code cases
listed in Paragraph 1. The ten liens are recorded in the Official Records of
Monroe County, Book 2833, Pages 1545-1564.
b. Issue a release of the Lis Pendens, recorded in the Official Records of Monroe
County, Book 2926, Pages 2330-2331.
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c. Withdraw the County's Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement.
12. The Court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce compliance with the terms set forth in U
this Second Settlement Agreement.
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Section 1 -Recitals.The foregoing recitals are true and correct and are hereby incorporated
as if fiilly set forth herein. 0
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Section 2 - Settlement. The parties have entered into this Second Settlement Agreement
knowingly, freely, and voluntarily, having determined that they have adequate information upon U
which to make informed decisions and having decided that it is in their best interests to amicably 0
resolve this action. E
a. Neither party is under coercion or duress. Neither has been forced into this U)
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Agreement or threatened in any way.
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b. Neither party knows of any fact or circumstance, which would cause this CL
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Agreement to be void or unenforceable.
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Section 3-Good Faith. These settlement negotiations have been undertaken by the parties Cr
in good faith.
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Section 4 - Choice of Law; Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Venue. This Agreement is
not subject to arbitration and shall be governed by,and construed and enforced in accordance with,
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the laws of the State of Florida, and venue for all claims, controversies, or disputes relating to this
Agreement shall be in the Circuit Court of the 16"' Judicial Circuit in and for Monroe County,
Florida.
Section 5 - Binding Effect. It is agreed and understood that this Second Settlement E
Agreement shall be and is forever binding upon the parties, including their successors-in-interest.
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Section 6 - Construction of Agreement; Divisions and Headings. Captions and
paragraph headings, where used herein, are inserted for convenience only and are not intended to U
descriptively limit the scope and intent of the particular paragraph or text to which they refer.
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Section 7- Inconsistency, Partial Invalidity, Severability, and Survival of Provisions.
If any condition, provision, reservation, restriction, right, or term of this Agreement, or any
portion(s) thereof, is/are held to be invalid or unenforceable by any administrative hearing officer U
or by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity or unenforceability of such condition,
provision, reservation, restriction, right, or term, or any portion(s) thereof, shall neither limit nor U
impair the operation, enforceability, or validity of any other condition, provision, reservation, 0
restriction, right, term, or any remaining portion(s) thereof. All such other conditions, provisions,
reservations,restrictions,rights,terms,and remaining portion(s)thereof shall continue unimpaired
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in full force and effect.
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Section 8 -Integration. This Settlement Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement and CL
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any representation or understanding of any kind preceding the date of the parties' written final
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approval of this Agreement not specifically and expressly memorialized herein is not binding on
either of the parties except to the extent that it has been specifically and expressly memorialized CL
in this Agreement.
Section 9 - Non-Reliance by Third-Parties. No non-signatory person(s) or entity(ies)
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shall be entitled to rely upon any conditions, provisions, or terms of this Agreement to enforce or
to attempt to enforce any third-party claim(s)or entitlement(s)to or benefit(s)from any conditions,
provisions, or terms hereunder.
Section 10 - Execution in Counterparts. The parties acknowledge and agree that this E
Second Settlement Agreement maybe executed in one or more counterparts, each counterpart shall
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be considered an original portion of this Agreement, and all of which shall constitute a single
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instrument. U
Section 11 - Scrivener's Errors. The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners ®'
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authorizes the Monroe County Attorney and counsel representing the Monroe County Attorney's
Office in this matter to correct any scrivener's errors within this Agreement, prior to written
execution of this Agreement on the County's behalf as authorized and approved by the Board of U
County Commissioners following a duly noticed public meeting of the Monroe County Board of
County Commissioners at which this Settlement Agreement is considered. cj
Section 12-Effective Date.Once fully and finally executed by the Parties,this Agreement 0
shall be considered legally effective and forever binding on the parties.
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Signature w_
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Printed Name
Representati�p for Coher and Coher Invest Co., Ltd. Cr
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STATE OF
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)"he foregoing Seco cl SetQlunent A �gr e enient was acknowledged and attested before me this
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day of ,� why as all known to as
me or produced as proof of identification and did take an oath.
LWAE WN Notary Public (Print"°l�ame)
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Notary Public Seal Notary Public (Signli6rj)
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Robert Shillinger Date
Monroe County Attorney 6U
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REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
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