Judge Mavel Ruiz lifted a two-month injunction blocking Miami Dade College’s transfer of 2.63 downtown acres for a proposed Donald Trump presidential library after the college held a re-noticed Dec. 2 public meeting that included nearly 80 speakers. The judge found the second meeting cured any alleged open-government defects and dissolved the injunction without prejudice, allowing activist Marvin Dunn to refile. The bayfront parcel is valued at roughly $67 million and sits across from the Miami Heat arena.
Judge Lifts Injunction, Clearing Way For Trump Presidential Library Land Transfer After Re‑Noticed Meeting
MIAMI — Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz on Thursday lifted a two-month injunction that had paused Miami Dade College’s transfer of 2.63 acres of downtown property intended for a proposed Donald Trump presidential library, removing a significant legal obstacle to the project.
Ruiz initially halted the transfer after local activist Marvin Dunn sued, alleging the college failed to provide adequate public notice about the land transfer and thus violated Florida’s open-government (Sunshine) laws. The dispute was previously found to merit a trial, which was scheduled for August 2026.
In the interim, Miami Dade College convened a second, re-noticed public meeting on Dec. 2 at its Hialeah campus. That session lasted roughly 4.5 hours and drew testimony from nearly 80 speakers, including Dunn and his attorney, Richard Brodsky. College counsel submitted meeting minutes and evidence showing the second notice provided substantially more detail — explicitly naming the Trump presidential library as the intended use — and was publicized on the college website and in the Miami Herald.
“Although there have been a lot of political issues associated with this case, let me make something very clear: This is not and has ever been and is not today a political decision,” Ruiz said, emphasizing that the court’s role is to apply the law, not to decide the wisdom of the project.
Ruiz agreed the re-noticed meeting satisfied Florida’s open-government requirements, particularly the obligation to give the public adequate notice, and concluded the College’s second meeting cured any alleged Sunshine Act defect. The judge dissolved the injunction "without prejudice," preserving Dunn’s right to file a new complaint.
Attorney Jennifer Hernandez, representing Miami Dade College, told the court the college had followed Ruiz’s guidance on wording for the re-notice and that the second meeting rendered the lawsuit moot. Brodsky had urged an evidentiary hearing to probe the trustees’ motives in holding the second meeting; Ruiz declined to require one.
The 2.63-acre bayfront parcel in downtown Miami is estimated at about $67 million and sits across from the Miami Heat arena; some real estate experts say its value could be higher. Trustees originally voted in September to transfer the land to the state; after the state vote, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier indicated they would support a transfer to the Trump Library Foundation at a Cabinet meeting.
Dunn — who filed suit in October and posted a $150,000 bond after mortgaging his home — said he would continue to press his challenge. With the injunction lifted, the transfer can proceed for now, but further legal action remains possible.
