A Florida judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the planned transfer of prime downtown Miami land for the future Donald J Trump presidential library . The library is set to be built on a plot owned by Miami Dade College .
Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz said the college’s board of trustees, which initially gifted the “sizable plot” of real estate to the state, had violated a Florida government law. According to Ruiz, the board “didn’t give the public reasonable notice ahead of the vote last month.”
“This is not an easy decision,” Ruiz told reporters from the bench, as reported by The Associated Press. She added, “This is not a case, at least for this court, rooted in politics.”
The lawsuit was filed last month by activist Marvin Dunn, who alleged that the board violated Florida’s “Government in the Sunshine” law by failing to provide sufficient notice for its special meeting on September 23, when it voted to give up the land.
As per Dunn’s complaint, the agenda released ahead of the meeting “simply stated the board would consider conveying property to a state fund overseen by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is from Trump's Republican Party, and the Florida Cabinet,” but it “provided no details on which piece of property was being considered or why.” Dunn also noted that, unlike every other meeting the board had held this year, this meeting was not livestreamed.
A week later, DeSantis and other top officials voted to transfer the land again, effectively putting the property under the control of the Trump family.
The case comes despite DeSantis signing a bill earlier this year pre-empting local governments from blocking the development of the library, a move aimed at overruling potential opposition in liberal-leaning counties or municipalities.
College questions petitioner's ‘motives’
Jesus Suarez, an attorney for Miami Dade College, argued that the college did “what was required under the law” and questioned Marvin Dunn’s “political motivations” for filing the lawsuit.
“There is no requirement under Florida law that there be specificity on notice, because those trustees can come into that room and talk to each other about whatever they wish,” Suarez said.
Attorneys for Dunn countered that no one who wasn’t already aware of the deal could have known what the board would decide.
“The people have a right to know what they’re going to decide to do when the transaction is so significant, so unusual and deprives the students and the college of this land,” plaintiff’s attorney Richard Brodsky told The Associated Press prior to the judge’s decision.
Property a ‘developer’s dream’
The nearly 3-acre (1.2-hectare) property has been described as a “developer’s dream” and is valued at more than $67 million, according to a 2025 assessment by the Miami-Dade County property appraiser. Other Florida locations had previously been considered for the library, including sites associated with Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and Florida International University in suburban Miami.
Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz said the college’s board of trustees, which initially gifted the “sizable plot” of real estate to the state, had violated a Florida government law. According to Ruiz, the board “didn’t give the public reasonable notice ahead of the vote last month.”
“This is not an easy decision,” Ruiz told reporters from the bench, as reported by The Associated Press. She added, “This is not a case, at least for this court, rooted in politics.”
The lawsuit was filed last month by activist Marvin Dunn, who alleged that the board violated Florida’s “Government in the Sunshine” law by failing to provide sufficient notice for its special meeting on September 23, when it voted to give up the land.
As per Dunn’s complaint, the agenda released ahead of the meeting “simply stated the board would consider conveying property to a state fund overseen by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is from Trump's Republican Party, and the Florida Cabinet,” but it “provided no details on which piece of property was being considered or why.” Dunn also noted that, unlike every other meeting the board had held this year, this meeting was not livestreamed.
A week later, DeSantis and other top officials voted to transfer the land again, effectively putting the property under the control of the Trump family.
The case comes despite DeSantis signing a bill earlier this year pre-empting local governments from blocking the development of the library, a move aimed at overruling potential opposition in liberal-leaning counties or municipalities.
College questions petitioner's ‘motives’
Jesus Suarez, an attorney for Miami Dade College, argued that the college did “what was required under the law” and questioned Marvin Dunn’s “political motivations” for filing the lawsuit.
“There is no requirement under Florida law that there be specificity on notice, because those trustees can come into that room and talk to each other about whatever they wish,” Suarez said.
Attorneys for Dunn countered that no one who wasn’t already aware of the deal could have known what the board would decide.
“The people have a right to know what they’re going to decide to do when the transaction is so significant, so unusual and deprives the students and the college of this land,” plaintiff’s attorney Richard Brodsky told The Associated Press prior to the judge’s decision.
Property a ‘developer’s dream’
The nearly 3-acre (1.2-hectare) property has been described as a “developer’s dream” and is valued at more than $67 million, according to a 2025 assessment by the Miami-Dade County property appraiser. Other Florida locations had previously been considered for the library, including sites associated with Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and Florida International University in suburban Miami.
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