Miami judge sets trial date for Trump library land transfer case

Claire Heddles, Miami Herald on Nov 24, 2025

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MIAMI — A lawsuit over whether Miami Dade College violated Florida’s public transparency laws when it voted to transfer land to the state for Donald Trump’s presidential library is set to go to trial next August, a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge announced Monday.

In a ruling, Judge Mavel Ruiz shot down an effort by the college’s lawyers to hold off plans for a trial until the Third District Court of Appeal — filled with judges appointed by Republican governors — weighs in on her prior ruling blocking the college from transferring the land to the state, allowing the case to proceed.

The ruling leaves the prime downtown real estate in legal limbo for months and marks the latest blow to Trump-endorsed Florida attorney general James Uthmeier, who is leading the college’s defense in higher court and running for re-election next year.

Trump’s team intends to raise almost a billion dollars over three years to fund the development, which will include a library and a high rise, according to tax filings obtained by the Miami Herald. Neither the Trump library foundation nor the college has specified any remuneration or concessions the school received for giving away its property.

The legal case is about whether the college’s trustees provided “reasonable notice” to the public about its plans to give away land adjacent to Miami’s Freedom Tower ahead of a Sept. 23 board meeting.

The college issued a public notice about the special meeting the week prior, which said the board would be discussing “potential real estate transactions.” The college did not specify which plot of land it was voting on or its intended purpose.

Miami Dade College did not respond to questions from the Miami Herald about whether the meeting was related to the presidential library beforehand. Miami mayor Francis Suarez later told the Herald he was “kind of sworn to secrecy” by college president Madeline Pumariega about the plans.

Historian and activist Marvin Dunn filed the lawsuit against the college’s board of trustees, accusing them of violating Florida’s Sunshine law and denying the public access to weigh in on the plans.

Judge Ruiz said that he has “substantial likelihood of success on the merits” earlier this month, when she blocked the college from transferring the land as Dunn’s case proceeds.

The Third District Court of Appeal has since denied a request from Uthmeier for a speedy decision reversing Ruiz’s decision to block the land transfer while the case was in process. That court has not weighed in on the underlying questions of the case.

Ruiz, an elected judge, said she is not reading anything further into their decision.

“This court does not believe that because the Third denied the expedited appeal that it means that this case is weaker or stronger for anyone,” Ruiz said Monday.

Dunn’s attorneys had asked her for a faster trial date, hoping for as soon as January. Ruiz said Monday that would be difficult to schedule and offered a trial between August 3 and August 14, 2026 instead.

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