Advocacy organizations reach a settlement with the city of Miami to protect the rights of residents experiencing homelessness
MIAMI, Feb. 8, 2024 — Southern Legal Counsel, Legal Services of Greater Miami and the ACLU of Florida reached a settlement with the city of Miami Jan. 23, avoiding an impending trial in federal court over the city’s practice of destroying the personal property of people experiencing homelessness without due process.
At a meeting of the Miami City Commission Feb. 8, commissioners approved the financial terms of the settlement. The settlement agreement has detailed procedures to address the issues raised by the advocacy organizations. In a complaint filed in June of 2022, the advocacy groups described the city’s sweeps of homeless encampments as being conducted with little or no notice, and without giving people the opportunity to secure their property to avoid destruction.
Under the new policies, city personnel are required to place notices of a cleanup operation at least 72 hours prior to the cleaning date in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, and they are required to photograph personal property prior to disposing of it or storing it. The Department of Human Services will maintain improved records so the city will know what property it has removed, and the property owner will be more likely to recover their belongings.
To ensure that the city will not dispose of “personal items such as identification, medicines and eyeglasses and other small items of importance” that have been identified by the owner, or are readily identifiable, as personal property, any such property that is tagged or labeled will be stored upon removal, and city personnel will attempt to contact the person identified on the tag to inform them of how to claim it.
“Under the settlement, we achieved a policy that provides protections against destroying property that the city mistakenly decides is abandoned or contaminated, as the city will now tag property three days before disposing of it to allow owners time to claim their property,” said Southern Legal Counsel Executive Director Jodi Siegel.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit will also receive damages as compensation for the lost property. The complaint had noted that the city’s actions had deprived them of “personal property critical to their survival, such as government-issued identification documents, medication, and clothing.” It also recounted deeply personal losses – among them an urn with a parent’s ashes, a pet cat, and irreplaceable family photos.
Legal Services Chief Advocacy Officer Jeffrey Hearne said the settlement and the city’s new procedures will ensure that those Miami residents who lack shelter will still have the protection of the U.S. Constitution.
“The Constitution exists for all of us,” Hearne said. “Our rights are not conditioned on having a roof over our heads. This settlement protects the constitutional rights of Miami residents when they are at their most vulnerable. This settlement will reduce unreasonable property seizures by the city and provide more due process to people experiencing homelessness—rights guaranteed by Constitution.”
The new procedures also include policy improvements that will reduce barriers to housing solutions. For example, when residents accept shelter placement, the city will inform them of the opportunity to store non-contaminated and non-bulky items for up to 90 days, removing a common reason for refusing to go to a homeless shelter, where residents often are only allowed to bring limited personal belongings.
"In 2018 the city successfully sought an end to federal court oversight of its treatment of persons experiencing homelessness, assuring the court it would respect their constitutional rights," said Stephen Schnably, a law professor at the University of Miami and a Cooperating Attorney with the ACLU of Florida. “This new settlement will help make that promise a reality.”
Southern Legal Counsel is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that works proactively to ensure fairness, social justice, and government accountability for Floridians through focused, high-impact initiatives, policy advocacy, and civil litigation.
Legal Services of Greater Miami is a non-profit law firm that advocates to remove legal barriers to economic prosperity and to achieve a more just and equitable community.
The ACLU of Florida is a privately funded membership organization that works to protect, defend, strengthen, and promote the constitutional rights and liberties of all people in Florida.