Former Miami Beach mayor blocked him on Twitter. Public-records suit may go to trial
A public-records lawsuit filed against the city of Miami Beach and former Mayor Philip Levine, who blocked a critic on social media while in office, may be headed to trial after the presiding judge denied a motion for summary judgment in the case.
The complaint, filed in 2016 by radio host and journalist Grant Stern, requests that Levine and the city turn over a month’s worth of Levine’s tweets, a list of any Facebook accounts Levine restricted and audio recordings from Levine’s “The Mayor” radio show.
Stern’s lawyers argue that Levine’s social media profiles, while not run by the city, functioned as a public bulletin board where members of the public have a right to engage. Stern, a Miami-Dade County resident who said he was blocked by Levine on Twitter and Facebook, sued the city after it denied his public-records request for the “block list” and audio recordings.
The legal team representing Miami Beach and Levine contend that Levine’s social media pages were only used for private brand building. While they included references to city business, the attorneys said, Levine’s posts were never the primary source for the information.
Due to the factual dispute, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Spencer Eig on Tuesday denied a motion for summary judgment filed by Levine and the city.
“That sounds like a trial decision,” Eig said of the conflict during a hearing Friday.
George David, an attorney for Stern, said Eig’s ruling set the stage for a jury trial. The city may appeal the decision, David said, or choose to settle the case by providing Stern with the requested documents.
“They tried to say that his Facebook and his Twitter accounts were not public records because Mayor Levine had that social media just for his own self aggrandizement and to make a bigger Internet footprint,” David said. “We showed that, no, he was actually holding himself out [as the mayor].”
Miami Beach chief deputy city attorney Aleksandr Boksner said a trial is not likely in this case. The city is “optimistic” the judge will ultimately rule in favor of it and Levine, Boksner said in a statement. Levine declined to comment Thursday.
“Please be advised that the City of Miami Beach does not anticipate this case ‘going to trial,’ as the plaintiff improperly suggests for this matter,” he said. “Rather, this litigation will most certainly be resolved upon the court holding a hearing [pursuant to Florida Statute 119.11], after which, the court will render its ruling based upon the evidence adduced at the hearing and the legal issues presented in this matter.”
After Eig denied the summary judgment, Stern broadcast his excitement to the more than 100,000 people who follow him on Twitter, proclaiming that Levine would soon stand trial for “illegally blocking me.”
While Stern’s attorneys did not file the lawsuit challenging the blocking itself, Stern said being blocked sparked his public-records challenge. After he was blocked on Twitter, Stern messaged Levine on Facebook to request a copy of his tweets. Levine then blocked him on Facebook, Stern said.
“I’m putting former Miami Beach Mayor Levine on trial for illegally blocking me on social media and refusing to turn over his Facebook block list for the many residents he unlawfully kept from commenting on his many [posts] about official business,” Stern said.
