Hospitality & Food Services

MM&H represents the Owner of a well-known South Florida theme park and event space, Jungle Island which opened a high-profile beach club and entertainment space using club management who were well-known as club promoters in Miami Beach having successfully operated Liquid, a very popular club in the 1990’s and Joia, another popular club in the 2000’s. The club was opened in 2020 and despite closures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and some permitting issues, became a popular club that was frequented by major celebrities and high net worth individuals enjoying the Miami Beach club scene. Owners terminated the ten year Management Agreement with the management company after just one year. The matter proceeded to final hearing before former Judge Jackie Scola. Shortly after the appointment of the arbitrator, former Judge Jackie Scola, additional appearances were entered for Liquid by the Ferraro Law Firm. Neither the Ferraro Firm nor the sole arbitrator made any disclosure of close personal and business relationships between the Ferraro attorneys and either Jackie Scola or her husband, federal judge Robert Scola. The arbitrator issued an extremely adverse finding adopting the proposed findings of Liquid in a cut and paste manner. Only after the award was issued did MM&H and its clients discover independently the undisclosed relationship. MM&H retained an well-respected legal ethics expert, Anthony Alfieri, University of Miami Law School tenured ethics professor, to opine that the award needs to be vacated due to the failure on the part of Liquid’s counsel as well as the sole arbitrator to disclose the prior relationship. MM&H has moved to vacate the final arbitration award in filings in the Circuit Court for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County.

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