Power Suit

City Files Lawsuit to Upgrade a Failing Infrastructure

April 2018

When Irma hit South Florida, thousands of Gables residents lost power. A week later, hundreds of homes were still without power. So, in October, the city voted to sue FPL for failing to maintain and upgrade its gear, especially since FPL customers paid surcharges on their bills for just that. The lawsuit has since been carried forward by new City Attorney Miriam Ramos, appointed in November. FPL dismissed the lawsuit as an act of self-entitlement by a spoiled, affluent city. A judge will now have to see if it should be dismissed in a court of law, with a hearing this month. If not, it goes forward. The aim of the suit is “to make them do what they are supposed to do,” says Ramos. The city wants the court to order FPL to keep vegetation trimmed and upgrade their equipment to a higher standard. “Our infrastructure is 60 years old,” says Mayor Raúl Valdés-Fauli. “Remember rotary phones? Our infrastructure is like that.”  

City Attorney Miriam Ramos