In a hearing Monday, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Jeri Beth Cohen said she will wait until Oct. 2 to issue her final ruling in the lawsuit filed by a wealthy auto dealer who is attempting to derail plans to build a $515 million, bond-financed, ballpark for the Florida Marlins.
Oct. 2 is the date by which attorneys have to file requests to the Florida Supreme Court seeking to rehear a ruling last week in which the court determined that tax increment financing bonds did not have to be approved by state voters in a referendum before they could be sold.
Cohen has put off making a final decision in the months-long lawsuit because of the pending Supreme Court case. On Monday, she agreed with attorneys for auto dealer Norman Braman to wait a little longer to ensure there is no reconsideration of the Supreme Court decision.
Although the Marlins project does not rely on TIF bonds, it is wrapped up in a complex $3 billion community development financing package that does include the use of a TIF district for other projects.
