The trial in the lawsuit is scheduled for August 2026 trying to block transfer of a plot of luxury real estate in Miami, which will be used by President Donald Trump presidential library.
Monday's decision by District Judge Mavel Ruiz in Miami will further delay Miami-Dade College's plans to formally transfer a sizable tract of land to the state of Florida, which intends to donate it to a foundation for planned library.
Miami activist Marvin Dunn, a retired professor and chronicler of local black history, filed lawsuit claiming the college board violated Florida rules Government in solar law without advance notice of its special meeting on September 23, when it voted to abandon the nearly 3-acre (1.2 hectare) property.
Last month, Ruiz sided with Dunn and granted a temporary injunction preventing the transfer of the property, at least for now.
Lawyers for the college asked the judge to put the trial on hold until a decision is made. appeal court review. Ruiz instead set the trial to begin Aug. 3, although she acknowledged that could change depending on how the appeals court proceeds.
The property is a developer's dream and is valued at more than $67 million, according to the Miami-Dade County real estate appraiser. One real estate expert bet the site — one of the last undeveloped lots on the iconic stretch of palm-lined Biscayne Boulevard — could sell for hundreds of millions of dollars more.
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Kate Payne is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
