His Own Worst Enemy.

According to an article in today's Miami Herald, Dan Samaria is suing someone.  It's a little unclear whom he's suing.  Or for what, exactly.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article243740042.html

The Herald article includes the document that is the suit, and it lists as defendants the Village, Tracy Truppman, Krishan Manners, and Rebecca Rodriguez.  Samaria wants $1M.  (And his lawyer doesn't know the difference between "block" and bloc.)   The Village has deeper pockets than do Truppman, Manners, or Rodriguez, but there is no other explanation for why Samaria would be suing the Village.  Samaria, by the way, has constructed for himself some understanding (fantasy) that suing the Village doesn't mean suing the residents of the Village.

Dan Samaria had some problems that led to some lender's foreclosing on his house in BP.  Dan has been fighting this for years.  His current complaint/suit is that a delicate balance was upset by Manners, Truppman, and Rodriguez, when they questioned his legitimacy as a BP resident, and therefore, as a BP Commissioner.  Whether or not a delicate balance was upset is debatable.  That Truppman, Rodriguez, and Manners tried to disenfranchise him from his elected office is without question.  Dan's refusal to answer a question -- where do you live? -- unnecessarily gave ammunition to Truppman, et al.  Dan was right to note that even after Truppman, et al, were alleging that he didn't live in his house, Commission documents from the Village were hand-delivered, as always, to the house where he was alleged not to live.  As the Herald article recapitulates, the judge in the matter dismissed the suit in Dan's favor, since he clearly lived here, and there was no reason to think he didn't, or evidence that he didn't.  Further, it wouldn't have mattered if Dan hadn't lived here, as long as he asserted that he intended to move back.  Dan had won his case.

In the meantime, Dan had previously settled into a habit of seeking advice from various Village residents.  They most prominently included Roxy and Chuck Ross, and Bob and Janey Anderson.  Once Roxy was re-elected to the Commission, Dan could no longer seek advice, or discuss Commission matters, with her.  At about that time, he stopped consulting with Chuck Ross and the Andersons, too.

The hearing at which Dan prevailed was also noteworthy.  Dan was represented by a very prominent Miami lawyer, who happens to live in BP, and is Roxy Ross' boss.  And this lawyer did not charge Dan what would have been a high fee for such representation.  He didn't charge Dan anything.  The judge at the hearing noted with some surprise the comparatively extensive gallery of people in attendance.  There were probably about 15 of us, and we were there only to support Dan.

It's worth noting that Krishan Manners was quoted in the Herald article as saying that Dan's jeopardy in terms of his attempt to hang onto his house was common knowledge.  It was, because Dan wasn't shy about discussing it.  It's also worth noting that neither Dan's lawyer at the hearing, nor the judge, nor Dan's current lawyer have challenged the concept of that jeopardy.  In that same vein, it's unclear what Dan would argue is his loss.

After some jostling, and Tracy Truppman's attempt to resist, the Commission finally changed, with new members Ginny O'Halpin, Mac Kennedy, and Roxy Ross.  Once that Commission was seated, a very early order of business was to dismiss Krishan Manners.  All Commissioners, except Tracy's remaining stooge, Will Tudor, who for some reason did not resign with Tracy and the rest of the stooges, agreed to this dismissal.  In theory, there was now a Commission majority that could have included Dan, Ginny, Mac, and Roxy.

But Dan was adrift.  He was no longer taking logical and adaptive advice, and he was no longer thinking straight.  It also turned out that Ginny did not know what she was doing.  It was possible that the two of them could have followed the lead of Roxy Ross and Mac Kennedy.  But instead, they joined forces with Will Tudor, who was the remaining person who had supported the effort against Dan.  Dan forgot entirely who had supported him, who advised him, and who was on his side.  Instead, he attached himself to the last remaining person who tried to get him thrown off the Commission and out of the Village.

Dan has shut down ever since.  He does not listen to reason, and he does not respond to e-mails.  He and Ginny and Will have circled their three little wagons, and have supported the tenure of INTERIM manager David Hernandez, who appears increasingly to be at war against anyone who wants what's good for the Village.  And whose version of knowing how to manage is that he doesn't.

Dan had a chance to be helpful to the Village.  But he doesn't know how, he doesn't ask for help from the right people, and he doesn't appear to care.  Dan has turned his back on a lot of people who took time, and went to trouble, to help him.  As the twisted saying goes, Dan snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.  And he's made an awful fool of himself.