#Judge rules that Miami Beach’s spring break midnight curfew stays after 3 nightclubs file complaint against city

MIAMI BEACH — A court battle was underway Saturday afternoon after three South Beach nightclubs decided to challenge Miami Beach’s newly instated midnight curfew to crack down on spring break. Despite their efforts, the judge denied their request.

According to CBS News Miami’s news partners at The Miami Herald, Miami Beach city spokesperson Melissa Berthier confirmed Saturday that a complaint was filed by the M2, Mynt Lounge and Exchange nightclubs. 

The Herald reported that a court hearing was held at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building in Downtown Miami, where city manager Alina Hudak was on the witness stand and being questioned by Ben Kuehne, who’s representing the nightclubs.

The judge overseeing the case — David C. Miller — has since denied the request to lift the curfew, saying that city officials acted in good faith and had narrowly tailored the curfew to allow for some businesses.

According to the Herald, Hudak testified that she saw bigger crowds and a more “rowdy atmosphere” among spring breakers on Thursday night, leading her to believe a curfew would be necessary. She also said the effectiveness of the curfew was evident Friday night when crowds began to thin out as midnight drew near.

“Clearly, the crowds chose at some point in the night to go somewhere else,” Hudak said. “It just wasn’t fun.”

The Herald reported that M2, Mynt Lounge and Exchanged filed the complaint around 11:30 p.m. Friday — nearly 30 minutes before the midnight curfew — in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, according to a copy of the document obtained by the Herald.

The curfew “unduly punishes and penalizes the plaintiffs’ lawful business operations and was done without reasonable or appropriate advance warning and in the absence of good cause,” the complaint stated. Also, several big events at the clubs had planned for this weekend will be canceled, the filing noted, adding that the venues had collectively welcomed thousands of patrons so far this month “without causing any harm to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens, residents, and visitors of Miami Beach,” the Herald reported.

The curfew began Friday night and was scheduled to be in effect each night this weekend until Monday morning, and applies to all areas south of 23rd Street and requires businesses to shut their doors after midnight.

The nightclubs’ legal challenge seeks to nullify the curfew for the rest of the weekend. According to the Herald, Hudak declared on Friday a state of emergency that lasts until Monday in order to enact the curfew, and would need approval from the Miami Beach City Commission if it were to be extended. 

Romain Zago, the owner of Mynt Lounge, told the Herald on Friday that he didn’t understand why the city imposed a curfew when other measures seemed to be effective in keeping crowds small and calm the prior weekend.

“I don’t understand why this week they would not apply the same system, the same measures,” he told the newspaper. “What happened all of a sudden today that we have to have a curfew?”

According to the Herald, Mynt is open from midnight to 5 a.m., meaning that Miami Beach’s curfew would force the club to be closed the entire weekend. Zago told the Herald that the move would damage his business and his employees. However, Miller also said in his ruling that he did not find that businesses would suffer irreparable harm.

“My staff all live check by check. They cannot afford a week off,” he said.

The city, Zago added, is “removing food from our plates.”

Large crowds gathered in South Beach for spring break, especially on Ocean Drive, for spring break, the Herald reported. However, the curfew enforcement went smoothly and police almost had the entire strip cleared by 12:15 a.m.

According to the Herald, this is the fourth year in a row that Miami Beach had declared a curfew during spring break; however, unlike past years, the 2024 curfew was imposed despite a relatively quiet March so far thanks to the city’s “break up with spring break” campaign.

The third weekend of March has had a problematic past for Miami Beach, marked by stampedes, shootings and other incidents related to spring break revelers. City officials had warned residents, visitors and businesses since last year that a curfew was likely during spring break this year, the Herald noted.

Peter D’Oench will have more on CBS News Miami tonight at 11 p.m on-air and online.