A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge has dismissed most of the claims brought by siblings Sean and Nicole Mirmelli in their effort to terminate a 99-year ground lease on part of the Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel property in Miami Beach.
Judge Thomas Rebull last week dismissed four out of five counts from the lawsuit filed by the Mirmellis against Chisholm Properties South Beach, which is led by Robert Balzebre. The counts thrown out included breach of contract, commercial eviction, and slander of title. This decision effectively denies the Mirmellis’ attempt to cancel the ground lease or appoint a receiver for management of the land at 1731 Collins Avenue, which makes up half of the hotel site. Both Chisholm and the Mirmellis’ trust each own 50 percent of this parcel.
Chisholm acquired the hotel for $1.4 million in 2004 and assumed the ground lease at 1731 Collins Avenue that enabled construction of its current Art Deco building in 1948. The company also owns an adjacent parcel at 1717 Collins Avenue outright.
Joseph Pardo, attorney for Sean and Nicole Mirmelli, said in an emailed statement that his clients plan to seek another hearing or appeal if needed. “We believe there was an ongoing breach because the lease restrictions are covenants that run with the land,” Pardo said.
Lawyers Abbey Kaplan and Philippe Lieberman, representing Chisholm, described the legal action as unjustified. In a joint statement they said: “The Mirmellis’ lawsuit was ‘a frivolous and misguided attempt to unwind a long-standing lease.’”
In their complaint, Sean and Nicole Mirmelli alleged Chisholm breached terms of the ground lease by changing conditions on-site that did not match those set forth in their agreement. They also accused Chisholm of being subject to liens on the property and taking out a $20.5 million loan in 2014 without proper authorization using both parcels as collateral.
Additionally, they claimed that mortgage documents included an estoppel letter containing what they said was a forged signature from Nicole Mirmelli; she denied signing it in an affidavit confirming her stance about verification status regarding terms of their deal.
Chisholm’s attorneys countered these allegations stating: “Our client received the fully executed Estoppel Certificate directly from the Mirmellis,” adding that notarization had been performed under oath witnessing its execution. They further stated: “Any alleged misdeed was attributable to the Mirmellis.”
Judge Rebull found some claims were barred due to statute-of-limitations issues regarding liens and mortgages dating back several years ago. He also ruled that without consent from Chisholm, Sean and Nicole Mirmelli did not have standing necessary for enforcement related actions concerning this ground lease.
