MIAMI (WSVN) - The latest chapter in the ongoing saga of Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo could soon have his home on the auction block to satisfy part of a civil judgment against him.
7News cameras captured the entrance to the commissioner’s Coconut Grove home on Morris Lane, Wednesday night.
The quiet neighborhood could become the center of a lot of fanfare over Carollo’s house.
Filmmaker Billy Corben, host of the podcast Because Miami, took to social media after spotting an ad in Miami New Times.
Touting a high end auction
In a phone conversation with 7News, Carollo addressed the ad.
“I found out through my attorneys that the U.S. Marshals are putting some kind of sale of my property for March 19th,” he said.
The notice was posted by Gadyaces S. Serralta, the United States Marshal with the Southern District of Florida, and it listed the “Attorney for Plaintiffs, Jeffrey W. Gutchess [Esquire].”
Gutchess represents Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla, the owners of the Ball & Chain nightclub in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. Fuller and Pinilla won a multimillon-dollar federal lawsuit against the embattled commissioner.
The auction ad goes on to list the address of Carollo’s home, stating, “The subject property is being sold “AS-IS” and “WHERE IS.”
Back on Feb. 2, a U.S. Marshal placed a notice on the front door of the commissioner’s property, the first part of the process in seizing his assets in order to pay off the judgment.
Carollo lost that lawsuit against the owners of Ball & Chain back in June. A jury ordered him to pay $63.5 million in damages, finding him liable for harassing the men.
Carollo insisted his home in the Grove is protected under constitutional homestead.
“I have the protection of the Florida Constitution,” he said.
Carollo said he has filed paperwork indicating his house is protected, but according to the property appraiser, the home does not have homestead exemption.
Meanwhile, Carollo continues to try and fight the judgment. He said he is confident that once it reaches an appellate court, it will go in his favor.
“I am an American citizen. I have the right to be protected under the rule of law and have due process,” he said.
The commissioner added he is meeting with his attorneys in an attempt to stop the auction from happening.
According to the ad, the auction has been scheduled for March 19 at the Federal Courthouse in downtown Miami, beginning at noon.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.