As everyone knows, unless, of
course, they’ve been living under a rock, the Village of Palmetto Bay has been
and is involved in numerous lawsuits which are due to some extremely misguided
zoning decisions by Mayor Stanczyk and various Council members. We might have to expect expect more to come
with the next one being filed by Alexander Montessori School who just recently
lost their ability to expand their enrollment.
The decision made to deny their
ability to add additional students was made by 110 residents who cast their
ballots and who live within approximately 2000 feet of the school. The final tally was 71 yes and 38 no
votes. The school needed a margin of 75%
yes’s to expand. They were 12 votes
short. 38 residents of Palmetto Bay
decided that a school that has been operating for decades in Palmetto Bay can’t
add an additional 59 students to their enrolment So much for democracy in Palmetto Bay.
Attorney Eve Boutsis, our
Palmetto Bay Village Attorney has played a large role in advising the Council on
various zoning and legal actions of the Village. So what if the recommendations or advice by
the Village Attorney in regards to zoning and litigation have been wrong and the
Village is eventually hit with millions of dollars in judgments? What if she doesn’t have Professional
Liability Insurance? If an Attorney doesn’t have professional liability
insurance and their advice has been wrong, who pays the bill? We the citizens of Palmetto Bay do. This is what I assume will eventually happen with
regard to the Palmer Litigation. We all
are going to have pay a little more in Real Estate taxes to cover up for either
bad legal advice or a Council that just didn’t care to take the Village
Attorneys recommendations. If it was bad
legal advice a lack of Professional liability insurance could be a real
problem.
When all is said and done the
Council will continue to rely on the recommendations of a Village Attorney
whether Ms. Boutsis is replaced or not.
In the meantime, I continue to ask whether our present Village attorney
has professional liability insurance or not but have basically been told by her
attorney to “pound sand.” Do you think
it would be safe to assume that’s a “no?”
As a citizens shouldn’t we be
able to find out if our Village Attorney has malpractice insurance or if it should
be required? With all the litigation that’s
been filed against the Village of Palmetto Bay over the last couple of years,
this really should be a requirement.
One item of note, If you search
the internet you’ll find that The City of South Miami, is presently suing Eve’s
partner, Luis Figueredo of Figueredo & Boutsis, P.A. for professional malpractice
stemming from an incident during his stint as South Miami’s City Attorney. The lawsuit claims he was negligent in issuing
a bond and questions whether it was tax exempt.
Now that alone should not be an indictment of Ms. Boutsis,
but it strengthens my argument that any attorney who works for our Village, or
any municipally for that matter, should be required to have Professional
Liability insurance.
This week I was able to obtain from the Village, the draft
Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Village Attorney’s position. Nowhere in the draft is there a requirement
that the Village Attorney obtain professional liability insurance. This is ultimately a mistake by Village
Manager Ron Williams which could have a detrimental financial effect on the
Village. Whether Ms. Boutsis keeps her
position or not, Professional Liability insurance must be a requirement for the
Village Attorney’s position.
Professional Liability insurance may not protect the
Citizens of Palmetto Bay from large financial judgments, or the couple of
Council members who thrive on litigation, but it will surely help keep any Attorney
who represents our Village more accountable for their professional advice.
