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Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Miami-Dade County Challenging Land Sale To Miami Beckham United

Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Rodolfo Ruiz has dismissed a lawsuit against Miami-Dade County, challenging the future use of Overtown land sold to Beckham and partners on the basis of its acquisition. The suit was filed by disgruntled local activist Bruce Matheson to stop a $9 million sale of 3 acres as part of the assemblage, which was sold based on the state of Florida's Economic-Development Law as a no-bid sale and was never offered to other buyers. Miami-Dade County lawyers argued that Florida's economic development law protects the county and its taxpayers by giving municipalities the authority to sell property if the sale benefits the local economy. As part of the deal Beckham must commit $175 million to stadium construction. Ruiz expects his ruling to be appealed. Last month we reported that David Beckham and his partners made a $450,000 downpayment to Miami-Dade ahead of their September 10th deadline to complete the purchase of the final 3 acres of the 9 acre Overtown assemblage.