Someone Shot the Sherriff... (or car thief?). By Geniusofdespair

All we know is that a lot of shots were fired in Aventura. The newsman didn't know what was going on. Anyway, someone was shot and it appears it happened in the Aventura Mall Parking Garage. Stolen car? The guy at Aventura Mall, maybe there to shoplift, got shot in the arm. I don't know, I plead the 5th on the whole thing. He might not have been armed. I was hoping to go to Starbucks. Not today.

Bloomingdales Parking Garage at Aventura Mall

Outside Aventura Mall

Newsman that didn't have a clue but either did I.

Eye On Miami's Saturday Editorial Page on Sunday. By Geniusofdespair

See Fred Grimm's article today about a development on a spoil island in Dumbfounding Bay: Even millionaires worry about developers encroaching on the neighborhood.  He says:

No, this wasn’t about a sidewalk. Not really. This was about our American way of life. Or at least our South Florida way of life, which entails fending off hurricanes, pythons, flesh-eating zombies and developers intent on building something overbearing next door.

Next door, in this case, would be the next island over.

Island Estates contains 21 waterfront homes on a fill island in Dumfoundling Bay, a fat bulge in the Intracoastal Waterway between Aventura and Sunny Isles Beach. Residents of what the court documents describe as South Island contend that they were deceived by the project’s developer who also owns another nearby fill island, aka North Island, which contains nine empty acres. Developers, of course, regard nine empty acres in the vicinity of Biscayne Bay as utterly untenable, an itch that must be scratched.

Except that the only way to get from North Island to the mainland would be a two-lane bridge onto the brick-trimmed road that dissects Island Estates down the middle.

Homeowners claim that when they bought their waterfront homes on Island Estates, developer Gary Cohen had promised that North Island would become “Casas de Oro,” an even pricier subdivision with just 17 homes on 16,000-square-foot lots.

I have snorkeled around the Island everyone is fighting about. I named it Kay Island. There are Mangroves on its Western edge and Plenty of fish. The other island you see is the rich people island. They paid $3 or $4 million for houses in their enclave and were promised my Kay Island would be developed the same as their island.

Here is what the developer NOW has planned for the Island. No fair. I hope the rich people prevail in court.

Sadly, there will be no vista's left in Miami Dade County. The beauty of America, as we see it, will be the turned into the American Wet Dream Mall/Theme Park that I wrote about on Friday.

Greynold's Miami Dade County Park Yesterday

Mr. Mayor don't say people want malls and theme parks. Here are people playing touch football in the park. There was a wedding going on in one of the picnic shelters at the same time. People want greenspace.

Traffic can be good, or at least useful. By Geniusofdespair

In Aventura 2 fleeing armed robbers didn't account for Aventura traffic. Stuck in a traffic jam they were quickly apprehended. One for traffic, zero for the bad guys. I would have fled on foot to the mall and tried to blend in. Note to robbers: don't plan on swimming up in North Dade, Haulover Park and the Oleta area are contaminated with sewage.

City of Miami:
On another note I am told that Douglas Park is still closed and the city has not even started removing the contaminated soil.

I don't have a computer for five days so I will be writing via my phone.

Eric Soroka's Sweetheart Deal -- Enbar Cohen, why did you vote for this?

I wrote about this recently - January 02.

I found this article in the Biscayne Times, written by Jay Beskin, same topic different info (It will make you sick):

Eric Soroka, Aventura City Manager, with his wife Teresa, Aventura City Clerk.

It takes a long time for lawsuits to wend their way through the court system. The plaintiff files the complaint, the defendant states that the plaintiff hasn’t made a case. The plaintiff amends the complaint to surmount the defendant’s objections.

The plaintiff or defendant, or both, then claim in a motion for summary judgment that there are no important facts in dispute, and that the moving party is entitled to win based upon the law. If the judge denies the motion for summary judgment, there is endless discovery to find out what the facts really are: requests for admissions of facts, interrogatories, depositions, notices to produce.

On and on it will go until if, on the eve of trial, the parties settle; or if not, the actual trial. The trial is supposed to settle the matter, unless the losing party believes that the trial judge made an error that affected the trial’s result.

Then the losing party appeals the verdict. There are the notice of appeal, the appealing party’s brief, the respondent’s brief, the appealing party’s reply brief to the respondent’s brief, and then the oral argument before the court.

Almost 14 months ago, Katherine Murphy, the former principal of the Aventura City of Excellence charter school, persuaded a jury of her peers to award her $155 million against the City of Aventura and city manager Eric Soroka for harassment and unjust termination that ruined Murphy’s health and reputation. It was one of the largest verdicts ever against a municipality, and the fourth-largest jury verdict in the United States in 2012.

The verdict included $500,000 in punitive damages assessed against Soroka specifically. Not even a week after the trial, though, the judge overturned the jury’s verdict and left Murphy with nothing. Of course, the judge’s ruling supported the city’s defense that neither the city nor Soroka had engaged in any impropriety. To Murphy and her lawyers, the ruling was grievously flawed and Murphy filed an appeal. We still await the decision of the appeals court.

Curiously, this past July 17, the Aventura City Commission did something that belies its own position. Someone is nervous and wants to hedge his bets. By a vote of 6-1 (Mayor Susan Gottlieb in the minority), the commission amended Soroka’s employment agreement to provide that in the event that he loses the punitive damages portion ($500,000) of the appeal, the city will pay for any amounts assessed against him.

In other words, if the appeals court finds that Soroka acted badly -- so badly, in fact, that he costs the city tens of millions of dollars -- the city will reward him by ensuring that he will never be out of pocket for even one cent. Aventura tax dollars will be hard at work for its residents!

Can't dump the judge? By Geniusofdespair

From my reading of dockets, it appears Uber Defense Attorney Ben Kuehne can't dump the judge Rosa Rodriguez who struck down the $155 million verdict he secured from a jury in favor of his client Principal Katherine Murphy. But of course I can't read dockets very well, I just saw Rosa Rodriguez's Judge number still on the case, which might or might not be over. I don't understand appeals. Lat thing on the docket was a motion for relief from judgement on 11/06/2013. There were 3 motions to disqualify the judge. Doesn't look like they went anywhere.

I hope Murphy prevails in this case if it is on appeal but it is not looking good, it might even be over.  I think it is a miscarriage of justice. I wrote extensively about this case even including testimony. Read my Dumb Shit post.



Video August 13, 2013 - try if on cell phone

Is it over for her? I talked to one of the first City Commissioners in Aventura and he went to Katherine Fernandez Rundle about the City Manager Eric Soroka years ago (the Defendant in the case) and he said Rundle did nothing.

There was an inquiry on this judge in 2012.

Is this Judge any good? I also found this about the Judge:

The Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) found Judge Rodriguez guilty of misconduct during her campaign for judicial office in 1998 for a seat on the Miami-Dade County Circuit Court. The misconduct related to Rosa’s conduct involving a $200,000 loan made to her campaign.

The actual source of the $200,000 was Rosa’s boyfriend, attorney Gabriel Bach. However, in an effort to conceal this truth, Rosa falsely claimed in official reports to the Division of Elections that she and/or her brother Hugo was the source of the loan.

Rosa also filed false election reports by lying that she had repaid herself over $100,000 for a non loan when in fact she paid her boyfriend Gabriel $80,000. Later on she filed a report entitled: “Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests” wherein she intentionally lied that she owed her boyfriend an additional $120,000 on the prior loan.

There can be no doubt that Rosa is a congenital liar and deceiver. In fact, it is apparent that she was willing to do anything in order to supplant her significant snout in the public trough. Apparently, no respectable law firm in the Miami area was about to offer this loser a well paying job.

As a consequence of her misconduct, the enablers for Judicial Misfits sitting on the Florida Supreme Court punished Rosa by gifting her with a complimentary reprimand and a 4-month suspension from the bench.

As we speak (May 2012) Rosa the Deceiver continues to sit as a Circuit Court Judge in the criminal division in Miami. Isn’t it nice to know that there’s yet another criminal sitting as a judge on the criminal court in Miami?

In my opinion the judge can't dump the whole case. She could have ordered a new trial but the guy did something wrong to another human being and he is still getting away with his bad behavior and getting raises by the laziest of city commissioners on earth who would just want him to do everything for them. ARE YOU LISTENING ENBAR COHEN (A big disappointment). That is clearly wrong for the Commissioners to allow bad behavior so they can rest on their laurels. Someone needs to step in against Soroka. Rundle are you still breathing?

Turnberry's Soffers: Heartfelt...Almost... Promise to Protect our Wellfield. By Geniusofdespair

Jeff Soffer

The Soffers, of Aventura Mall, wrote a heartfelt letter to the Miami Herald coincidentally on Black Friday. At least they are trying to rebuild their image. Better than most. I wrote about them Nov. 7th. 
Here is their letter to the editor:

On Oct. 20, Turnberry Associates and its partners decided to withdraw its application to move Miami-Dade County’s western Urban Development Boundary (UDB). In consultation with the commissioner who represents the subject-area district, Turnberry took action to address Miami-Dade residents’ concerns about the Northwest Wellfield Protection Area and the preservation of the county’s primary reservoir of drinking water.

Founded in Miami-Dade County more than 50 years ago by our father, Don Soffer, Turnberry is deeply committed to the sustainable development of our community. Over the years, Turnberry projects have improved our community’s standard of living by revolutionizing the living, working and leisure habits of its residents and visitors. In addition to these important social benefits, Turnberry projects have made a significant impact on the county and its residents through job creation and recurring economic contributions, including taxes, fees, permits and licenses. At the same time, Miami-Dade County has become a vibrant, prestigious, world-renowned destination with unlimited potential.

Turnberry’s success is directly intertwined with the well-being of this community. Miami-Dade County has long been home to our company’s headquarters, to three generations of the Soffer family and to thousands of our employees. The success of our projects also depends on being able to provide the most basic and valuable services, such as drinkable water. Therefore, the preservation of our most vital natural resources is one of Turnberry’s top priorities for every project.

Our initial plan contemplated the development of a family entertainment, recreation and retail center to satisfy the needs of Northwest Miami-Dade County’s rapidly growing population and tourists. Before submitting a plan to the county commissioners, we hired environmental engineers and planners (OKAY THIS IS ME: WHO WOULD THAT BE EXACTLY? Your lobbyists were Alexander Heckler, Jeffrey Bercow, Michael Marrero, Michael Radell, Edward Swakon, Cathy Sweetapple, Oscar Braynon II. Swakon is a paid for hire environmentalists the rest are not even close to being environmentalists, they are the usual suspects when you want to move the UDB line.  How about you hire real environmentalists.) to ensure that the project would not endanger the aquifer in the Northwest Wellfield Protection Area.

While Turnberry placed a considerable focus on environmentally sensitive development, we understand that, in this case, the community clearly desired a new design for the project that addresses the concerns of county residents and their leaders. Therefore, we will go back to the drawing board to work on a plan that caters to the growing surrounding population of Northwest Miami-Dade County while also addressing our community’s concerns. (ME AGAIN: LOOKS LIKE TROUBLE BREWING IN THIS PARAGRAPH - big trouble.)

Jeffrey and Jackie Soffer,

I don't think the Soffers really get it. If I were an environmentalist I would go there and educate brother and sister. They seem like nice people who do not want ruin Black Friday for their Aventura Mall, so they are not stupid. And Jeffrey has VERY good Karma...so far...blessed with movie star good looks, surviving a deadly helicopter crash last year, weaseling out of a bankruptcy without a lot of damage in Vegas and marrying super model Elle McPherson. Let's help Jeffrey keep his karma that way!

And no we don't want a Soccer Field out there.

Part 2: How Close is the Proposed Turnberry/Soffer Mall Development to our Wellfield?

Do you want to move the Urban Development Boundary for a Mall? See Part 1 yesterday.

This is the land the Soffer family/Turnberry wants to move the Urban Development Boundary for.  Look at its location to our wellfields, our drinking water source. It is in the wellfield protection zone.

Oh those Soffer's, trying to move the Urban Development Boundary. By Geniusofdespair

Jeff Soffer and new wife Model Elle McPherson -  we need more money

Okay guys (I mean Turnberry Corp./Soffers) when I say guys) you have the Aventura Mall, you have the Billions of dollars, you have the Fontainebleau, you have yachts, beautiful mansions and private planes, and in this case a spectacular wife, why do you need to move the Urban Development Boundary? Have some pity on us regular folks.

It was in the paper today the meeting is scheduled November 20th. Your land is in the the Northwest Wellfield Protection Area. Come on Soffer family, especially Don Soffer - the savvy one. Be good neighbors. Abandon this application. Tell your lobbyists Alexander Heckler, Jeffrey Bercow, Michael Marrero, Michael Radell, Edward Swakon, Cathy Sweetapple, Oscar Braynon II (SHAME ON YOU OSCAR -- FOR SHAME), Roosevelt Bradley (rumored to be hired for Audrey Edmonson) and the rest to take a hike. Tell all these friggin' lobbyists that the great Aventura Mall doesn't need the bad publicity right now before Christmas. Picket signs in front of a mall, what if that happened? That is very unsightly. Tell them you have enough and don't want to be greedy. Do this for the people not the profit. Be good people. We need more good people. You have a heart for dogs with your shelter, now have a heart for us. I love your mall, I am there every week buying crap I don't need. Do it for me! Abandon this application.

See part 2

The Worst City in Miami Dade County (after Homestead of course) AVENTURA. By Geniusofdespair

Aventura City Manager Eric Soroka with his wife - The City Clerk

Out of respect for my friend Jim Mullin publisher of The Biscayne Times and author Jay Beskin, I am not going to print the whole article but I urge you to read it. It will make you very angry. Here are two excerpts from the article:

So in December 2008, when Soroka (Aventura City Manager being sued by Aventura former principal) and Mayor Susan Gottlieb decided to commission a book on Aventura’s history, it seemed quite possible that our government was coming around. They chose Seth Bramson to write the book.

Bramson, who teaches Florida history at Florida International University and Barry University, is known for his well-regarded histories of the Florida East Coast Railway and of South Florida cities, such as Miami Beach, Hallandale Beach, and the Curtiss-Bright cities of Hialeah, Miami Springs, and Opa-locka. He received recognition from the leaders of the City of Miami for chronicling that city. On behalf of Aventura, Soroka and Gottlieb committed to underwrite the publication of 500 books.

After Bramson submitted his draft to Soroka and Gottlieb, they invited him to what he thought would be a routine meeting to discuss it. At that meeting, according to Bramson, Soroka and Gottlieb blindsided him.

They had essentially rewritten his book, deleting chapters and pictures, and eviscerating the substance of his work. Never before had leaders of a city profiled in one of Bramson’s books censored its contents.

Mayor from Hell: Susan Gottlieb - never saw a development she didn't like. Nasty as they come. When she was running, I met her at the polls and she was so dismissive and unpleasant, I changed my vote.

And:

This past August our city attorney (who is employs Soroka’s son) used the taxpayers’ dime to write a letter to Bramson’s publisher. The letter stated that “the City has not authorized Mr. Bramson to write a history of the city or to use photos, papers, or other property of the city in the proposed book.”

The city attorney’s letter is disingenuous. Since when does the subject of a book have to authorize its publication? If that were the case, the publication of many nonfiction books, including biographies, would essentially cease.

Under what statute or theory does a city have exclusive ownership of photos and papers in its possession? What happened to the public records laws under which anyone has the right to review and copy municipal papers and records?

Despite the ludicrousness of the letter, it had the desired chilling effect. Bramson’s publisher, not wishing to face a lawsuit, bailed.

I talked to Bramson myself and he also told me they wanted him to remove a photo of an African American from Aventura's Ojus history. It wasn't just about the Soroka case. Read the whole article. It is revealing. Aventura also pulled advertising from The Biscayne Times. This is like Lynda Bell retribution.

Aventura: What is in a Name? By Geniusofdespair

This is an interesting choice of a name, considering the location of this CDD. 168 CDD's have defaulted in Florida, on municipal bonds valued at 5.1 billion dollars.

This Aventura Isles Community Development District is having a public hearing 5/21 at the County Commission.

Note where the City of Aventura is.

Note where "Aventura Isles" is in relation to the City of Aventura. All locations are approximate.

Here is more information on a Community Development Distric (CDD) from Wikipedia:

Inbreeding In Aventura. By Geniusofdespair

The Biscayne Times has a great article about Aventura, "When Oversight is Overlooked." As far as the inbreeding goes, Biscayne Times reporter Jay Beskin said:

"...the commission exercises direct oversight and control over three municipal positions: the city manager, the city clerk, and the city attorney. None of these positions is answerable to the other. The purpose for this is to ensure there is system of checks and balances in our city, and that accountability rests solely with the commission.

Yet the city clerk, who is married to the manager, may have taken direct orders from him with respect to the allegedly illegal custody of school records. Has the clerk in fact improperly taken direction from the manager?

Not surprisingly, the manager’s son is employed by the city attorney, which is the private law firm of Weiss Serota."

That $155 Million Jury Settlement Reversed by the Judge, I Hope the Principal Can Collect. By Geniusofdespair

Eric Soroka

I do know Eric Soroka the subject of this lawsuit. He has always been consistently rude to  me so I cannot believe he was acting in good faith in this instance.

As you may or may not have read, the Principal of the Aventura School of Excellence says she was wrongfully fired and was abused by the Aventura City Manager (City is in charge of charter school). Katherine Murphy, the Principal, brought suit against Aventura City Manager Eric Soroka and the Charter School Company running the school for the City.  In a jury trial Katherine Murphy prevailed and won a $155 Million dollar lawsuit including $500,000 against Eric personally. Circuit Court Judge Rosa Rodriguez didn't agree with the Jury.

The judge overturned the award 5 days later. Benedict Kuehne, her able attorney said: "In a single ruling that was expedited for no apparent reason, Judge Rodriguez undid the tremendous work done by the jury in assessing and evaluating the wrongs done to Dr. Murphy by the defendants. This unprecedented decision will be the subject of further review as Dr. Murphy continues her necessary and vigorous fight for justice that has been against denied her. She intends to press for reinstatement of the jury’s $155.7 million verdict in her favor."

 As I stated in my last article "Dumb Shit", written in 2011, Soroka is the City Manager of Aventura, and his wife is City Clerk. Most Cities I have been to, you can pretty much just walk in.  They take your license and your photo to walk in Aventura City Hall (and the public Library in the building). You must then RETURN the picture tag when you leave. I suppose so Eric can look at who was in the building. I crumbled mine up and the guard had a cow, lecturing me on not following directions. He actually tried to flatten it out. I have never had my photo taken at any other City hall I have been to in Miami Dade County (Homestead, Coral Gables, South Miami, Key Biscayne, City of Miami, Miami Beach, etc.)

If you write to your City Commissioner or the Mayor to complain about either the City Manager or City Clerk in Aventura, be warned that either Eric or his wife Teresa Soroka reads your email and, in my case, they were the only ones to ever respond to emails NOT addressed to them.  How do you get in touch with the Commissioners in Aventura? You have to call them at home.

How do the Commissioners and Mayor know that Eric and Teresa are doing a good job?  Because Eric and Teresa tell them so.  You really can't get past this cartel of power in Aventura.  You might wonder how this could happen. Well I can only believe that the people elected are lazy.  They don't have to do anything but show up at meetings and the dynamic duo does the rest. It has worked well for all involved.  The people in Aventura are pretty happy with the nicely landscaped city, unless they have a problem and then the nightmare begins for them personally. They can never get past the firewall. The Aventura Mayor and Commission, avert their eyes but they know what is going on.  Mayor Gottlieb came in insisting that she and the Commission have a secretary not beholden to Soroka but in a short time she came around like a good Stepford wife and is now in lockstep with the rest. Effortless governing has its appeal.

When I read the court documents, I believed everything that Dr. Katherine Murphy said.  Not because he cursed at me or belittled me but because I think he has a flawed character from my dealings with him.  He is a bully. I don't like bullies. It appears that the Jury also believed Dr. Murphy and didn't have much regard for Soroka. I think the judge was wrong to overturn the award. In my opinion the City government in Aventura should have fired him long ago. Let me leave you with a quote from her Attorney Ben Kuehne:

The ruling is unprecedented, unwise, and entirely subject to question. The appellate court will be the next decider. Meanwhile, Dr Murphy is victimized again for proven outrageous conduct that the City of Aventura explains is just part of what it expects its Manager to do. Disgraceful!

Read some of the outrageous things that the Principal says happened (you will be shocked):

Response to radical GOP extremists

"You Don't Own Me" PSA from You Don't Own Me on Vimeo.

The "Dumb Shit" Ph.D. in Aventura. By Geniusofdespair

Aventura City Manager Eric "Soroka routinely and indiscriminately cursed at male and female employees." Court Testimony of 2 of Soroka's assistants.

Here is some dirty laundry for you. Years ago the principal of the Aventura Charter School of Excellence, located in the City of Excellence -- also known as Aventura -- was fired by the City Manager. Dr. Katherine Murphy sued the City, she also sued the City Manager, Eric Soroka and his wife who is the City Clerk, Teresa Soroka. Yes the town is inbred but no one gives a crap. Even Soroka's son's lawfirm gets city work according to a reader. The married couple are the gate keepers and no one gets near the Commissioners or the Mayor if they can help it. You can see this behavior in the complaint but I knew it was true before I read it. I blame the Aventura government for being lazy turds and letting Eric and his wife rule the city with an iron hand. Eric is a nasty guy, I never knew how nasty until I read this complaint that was filed June 10, 2010 (warning, if you don't like reading curses don't go any further):

Murphy described eleven different incidents in which Soroka allegedly harassed her about her work performance:

(1) in April 2003, after Murphy offered to let a city commissioner teach some lessons at the school, Soroka called Murphy a “dumb shit,” prohibited her from inviting commissioners to the school, and told her that “[i]t’s fucking inappropriate for you to talk to them”;

(2) also in April, after Murphy talked to Elaine Adler, the President of the Aventura Marketing Council, Soroka instructed Murphy to cease contact with Adler and told Murphy that she was a “stupid fuck” who failed to “get [the] message that [she was] not to do this”;

(3) in May 2003, after Murphy talked to a second city commissioner, Soroka told Murphy that “[y]ou directors do not talk” and called Murphy a “stupid shit” and a “dumb fuck”;

(4) Soroka screamed and yelled at Murphy when a parent complained about the school;

(5) Soroka “would call [Murphy] if there was an event at the school . . . and two commissioners were in the same building at the same time and call . . . her words like you slut” or “you goddamn fuck-up and ask her, can’t you get this?”;

(6) Soroka called Murphy a “dumb fuck” for the way she had addressed requests by parents for more input at board meetings and in the school;

(there is plenty more!)

(7) Soroka would appear at a school advisory meeting in a “bad” mood and insult Murphy by saying things like “you dumb shit, you stupid fuck, you fucked up, how come you can’t do this, why can’t you control staff, an idiot could take care of this, . . . you have the mindlessness of a hooker”;

(8) Soroka accused Murphy of meeting commissioners for dinner, accused her of not learning her lesson, called her a “dumb shit,” threatened to fire her, and warned her that if she had lied about the assemblage being coincidental that she “was fucked”;

(9) in 2005, Soroka called Murphy a “goddamn slut” after reading an article about her in the newspaper that he had not approved;

(10) while Murphy was conducting a parent-teacher conference in the Spring of 2006, Soroka called and told Murphy that she was a “stupid shit . . . you slut, how can you do this? . . . Don’t you goddamn learn your lessons”; and

(11) in the Summer of 2006, Soroka called Murphy a “goddamn stupid fuck” after she refused to give student records to Soroka’s wife.

Murphy described five incidents in which Soroka allegedly harassed her about her personal life:

(1) Soroka called Murphy about having dinner with Luz Weinberg, a city commissioner in the midst of her second divorce, and Soroka said the women looked like hookers;

(2) after learning Murphy had gone to dinner with Weinberg a second time, Soroka told Murphy that she looked like a "whore to be with her, because . . . [Weinberg] looks like a slut as well, out when she's working on her second divorce";

(3) Soroka told Murphy that dining in a restaurant alone made her look like a "whore";

(4) Soroka ridiculed and used vulgar language with Murphy after she, city commissioners, and the mayor attended a charity event for a child who [*5] had been killed in Israel; and

(5) Soroka also ridiculed Murphy about attending a charity event for cystic fibrosis at which city commissioners and the mayor were present. Murphy alleged that Soroka had called her a "stupid bitch," but Murphy did not explain where, when, or why the comment was made. Murphy also alleged that, in June or July of 2003 after Soroka overheard a mother remark that her buxom daughter could not wear a school uniform, Soroka stated in Murphy's presence, "[w]ouldn't all women love to have that problem."

All the defendants moved for summary judgment. The City argued that

Soroka did not sexually harass Murphy because the majority of Soroka’s remarks

were gender-neutral, and the other remarks were not sufficiently pervasive or

severe and did not interfere with Murphy’s job performance. The City also argued

that Soroka fired Murphy, not in retaliation, but because she had violated the

school enrollment policy by admitting former student Jake Norman before other

children on the waiting list; she had accepted money from Norman’s parents to

expedite his admission; and she had misappropriated school funds.

The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the City and sua

sponte dismissed without prejudice Murphy’s complaints that the Charter School



5
companies, the Sorokas, and Monroe had violated state law. The district court

ruled that Murphy failed to establish that she was subject to a hostile work

environment. The district court found that nine of the eighteen remarks described

by Murphy constituted “generalized profanity and insults.” The district court also

found that Murphy failed to establish that Soroka “singled out females as the

targets for” the profanity based on statements by Judy Appelgren, Soroka’s

assistant, and Ginger Kimnick that Soroka routinely and indiscriminately cursed at

male and female employees. The district court found that the remaining nine

remarks, although sex-based and offensive, did not rise to the level of sexual

harassment because they were of “limited frequency,” having occurred over two

years and eight months; were not severe; were not physically threatening and were

not humiliating; and did not “unreasonably interfere” with Murphy’s work

performance. The district court also ruled that Murphy failed to establish a prima

facie case of retaliation. The district court determined that Murphy failed to

establish that she had complained about gender-based discrimination and, in the

alternative, she lacked an objectively reasonable belief that she was subject to a

hostile work environment based on sexual harassment.

Murphy argues that Soroka’s remarks, particularly his gender-specific

remarks, created a debatable issue about whether she was a victim of sexual



6
harassment, but we disagree. The district court was entitled to conclude that

Soroka’s remarks that Murphy was a “dumb shit,” “stupid fuck,” and “dumb fuck,”

fell “under the rubric of general vulgarity that Title VII does not regulate.” Reeves

v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., 594 F.3d 798, 810 n.4 (11th Cir. 2010) (en

banc). The record establishes that Soroka also employed these vulgarities to

criticize male employees. Although Soroka’s use of terms like “slut,” “whore,”

“bitch,” “hooker,” and his remark about a young student’s bust size were no doubt

degrading and sex based, Soroka’s nine remarks, made over the course of over

three years, were neither severe nor pervasive. Murphy also failed to produce

evidence that Soroka’s conduct unreasonably interfered with her work

performance. Soroka rated Murphy’s job performance as excellent or exemplary,

and in October 2006, Soroka awarded Murphy a raise and a written commendation.

Murphy argues that Soroka’s remarks caused her to suffer nightmares, depression,

and anxiety, but Murphy testified that these symptoms did not surface until a

month after she was terminated. The district court correctly granted summary

judgment in favor of the City and against Murphy’s complaint of sexual

harassment.

Murphy argues that her complaints about Soroka’s comments constituted

protected activity that supports a claim of retaliation, but again we disagree.



7
Murphy failed to provide any evidence that she engaged in statutorily protected

activity. “A complaint about an employment practice constitutes protected

opposition only if the individual explicitly or implicitly communicates a belief that

the practice constitutes unlawful employment discrimination.” EEOC Compl.

Man. (CCH) §§ 8-II-B(2) (2006); see Crawford v. Metro. Gov’t, 129 S. Ct. 846,

851 (2009) (using the EEOC manual in interpreting the opposition clause of the

antiretaliation statute). Murphy testified that she asked Soroka to stop bullying her

and that she complained to a former supervisor, Soroka’s assistant, and a city

commissioner that Soroka had used “vulgar, inappropriate language,” and engaged

in “bullying, yelling, [and] screaming.” Murphy failed to report Soroka’s conduct,

formally or informally, to her employer, and Murphy acknowledged that she did

not complain to Soroka’s assistant or the city commissioner that Soroka’s conduct

was sexually hostile or sexually harassing. The district court correctly entered

summary judgment against Murphy’s complaint of retaliation.

Murphy lastly argues that the dismissal without prejudice of her state law

claims “unfairly works an injustice . . . by requiring her to begin anew in state

court,” but the district court did not abuse its discretion by dismissing these claims.

There was no reason for the district court to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over

the state law claims after the court dismissed the federal claims over which it had



8
original jurisdiction. We, in fact, “encourage[ ] district courts to dismiss any

remaining state claims when, as here, the federal claims have been dismissed prior

to trial.” Raney v. Allstate Ins. Co., 370 F.3d 1086, 1089 (11th Cir. 2004).

We AFFIRM the summary judgment in favor of the City of Aventura and

the dismissal without prejudice of Murphy’s state law claims.
----------------------------------------

Lexis One:

The City argued that Soroka did not sexually harass Murphy because the majority of Soroka's remarks were gender-neutral, and the other remarks were not sufficiently pervasive or severe and did not interfere with Murphy's job performance. The City also argued that Soroka fired Murphy, not in retaliation, but because she had violated the school enrollment policy by admitting former student Jake Norman before other children on the waiting list; she had accepted money from Norman's parents to expedite his admission; and she had misappropriated school funds.

The district court ruled that Murphy failed to establish that she was subject to a hostile work environment. The district court found that nine of the eighteen remarks described by Murphy constituted "generalized profanity and insults."

The district court also found that Murphy failed to establish that Soroka "singled out females as the targets for" the profanity based on statements by Judy Appelgren, Soroka's assistant, and Ginger Kimnick that Soroka routinely and indiscriminately cursed at male and female employees. The district court found that the remaining nine remarks, although sex-based and offensive, did not rise to the level of sexual harassment because they were of "limited frequency," having occurred over two years and eight months; were not severe; were not physically threatening and were not humiliating; and did not "unreasonably interfere" with Murphy's work performance. The district court also ruled that Murphy failed to establish a prima facie case of retaliation. The district court determined that Murphy failed to establish [*7] that she had complained about gender-based discrimination and, in the alternative, she lacked an objectively reasonable belief that she was subject to a hostile work environment based on sexual harassment.