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Lawsuit challenges fees charged by City of Miami for security at
Los Van Van concert
March 22, 2000
A federal lawsuit was filed today by Miami Beach concert promoter Debbie Ohanian, owner of Starfish, a South Beach Latin dance club, against the City of Miami. The suit seeks to recover over $39,000 in police security fees that were charged to Ohanian when she put on the October 9, 1999, Los Van Van concert at the Miami Arena, and it seeks a ruling that such fees cannot be imposed in the future based on the Cuban nationality of a performer or the presence of public protesters. Los Van Van, recipient of the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Salsa Band, is a Cuban band that has performed Afro-Cuban rhythms for 30 years, both in the United States and worldwide.
The suit, Ohanian v. City of Miami (NO. 00-1114-Lenard-Magistrate Turnoff), filed by ACLU cooperating attorneys Bruce Rogow and Beverly Pohl, alleges that the unusually high security fees were imposed because of the threat of protests by anti-Castro Cuban exiles, and that the First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution prohibit governments from arbitrarily charging fees to meet the expense incident to the maintenance of public order. See Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement, 505 U.S. 123, 112 S. Ct. 2395,120 L. Ed.2d 101 (1992). Ohanian agreed to pay the fees under protest and now seeks to recover any fees that were charged solely because the Cuban group's concert prompted political opposition.
The lawsuit also alleges that City of Miami officials, including Mayor Joe Carollo, Commissioner Tomas Regalado, and Commissioner Joe Sanchez, publicly opposed the Los Van Van concert, fueling the politically-based public controversy. The suit alleges that Carollo called the group "the official band of Fidel Castro," prompting political protests in the media in advance of the concert. He reportedly referred to Debra Ohanian, the Los Van Van promoter, as "Havana Debbie," and claimed that her efforts to bring Los Van Van to Miami sought to make "Uncle Fidel" happy.
