Daytona Beach attorney Aaron Delgado said he is not charging a fee for his work in representing Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood and other plaintiffs in their lawsuits against the accused promoters of an unpermitted spring break gathering in the city.
Delgado said he had heard from friends and community members about how the unpermitted event hurt businesses and neighborhoods. He said he saw the impact at his own office where the parking lot was strewn with trash.
Delgado works out at the same gym as the owners of Stroud’s Hog Heaven, a barbecue place at 37 N. Atlantic Ave., which he said had to shut down its business during the unpermitted event.
“My hourly work, that’s my contribution to the community,” Delgado said in a phone interview. “The taxpayers are not incurring some big bill for my services. I’m not doing this to profit financially. I’m doing this because it’s the right thing to do for the community.”
The sheriff’s office spent $800,000 for extra deputies and also used drones and helicopters to help keep the peace during the unpermitted spring break event which created “chaos” in the city, according to the lawsuit. The unpermitted events are sometimes called “takeovers.”
Delgado also said the idea for the lawsuits arose after he spoke with Volusia Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Brian Henderson. Delgado said he and Henderson were “brainstorming” solutions and Chitwood joined in the discussion. During the conversation, the idea arose to file a civil lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed against Aliyah Brooks and Brittany Plummer. Brooks lives in Clayton County, Georgia, and Plummer in Bibb County, Georgia.
“The sheriff is just one of the clients,” Delgado said. “And I’m not charging the sheriff for the hourly services. I’m donating my services to the sheriff’s office.”
Delgado is a well-known criminal defense attorney with an office in Daytona Beach that also deals with other areas of law, including personal injury and commercial litigation.
In addition to the sheriff’s office and the barbecue restaurant, Delgado is also representing Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort and other businesses.
Volusia Sheriff’s Office has access to county lawyers, if it chooses to use them
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office, like any county constitutional office, “participates in the county’s risk management program under agreements approved by the County Council in 2020,” according to an email from Volusia County Public Information Officer Clayton Jackson.
“The program encompasses liability and claims involving participating offices, and the County may represent those offices in matters that fall within that program. The County Attorney’s Office may also provide assistance in certain matters if requested by a constitutional office, such as risk protection order proceedings,” Jackson stated.
Delgado said as a constitutional officer, the sheriff is free to retain a law firm of his choosing.
Daytona Beach lawyer says he is working free for sheriff, other plaintiffs
Delgado said he is doing the work pro bono, meaning free, for all the plaintiffs in the lawsuits over the unpermitted event. He said the sheriff’s office and other plaintiffs would only need to pay the filing fee for the lawsuit which is about $400 and then the cost for a process server, which would be about $100 or $200.
Delgado said he was not charging anyone for his hourly rate.
He said if the case goes to trial and he wins then he can ask the court to order the promoters of the unpermitted event to pay his attorney’s fees.
But Delgado said if Chitwood’s office or any of his other plaintiffs are awarded damages, he will not take a cut.
Daytona lawyer: Unpermitted events unfair to businesses, promoters who follow rules
He said promoters who break the rules by holding unpermitted events in Daytona Beach are unfairly competing with business people who follow the rules.
“If you break all the rules, you can make a lot of money and there’s nothing we can do to make you accountable. That’s not right,” Delgado said.
Local businesses hire security and take other steps when holding events or just in their regular business, he said. As an example, Delgado said Razzles nightclub on Seabreeze has spent thousands of dollars to install metal detectors to make the club safer.
Delgado also pointed to the massive Welcome to Rockville music festival taking place from May 7 to 10 at Daytona Beach International Speedway. He said that must be an expensive event for the promoter, but it’s done the right way with permits and security.
The lawsuits seek to recover money for the Daytona Beach businesses hurt by the unpermitted events.
“We would recover the lost profit and we would hold these people accountable for the real cost of doing business,” Delgado said.
Criminal defense lawyer joins Sheriff Chitwood in fighting unpermitted events
Delgado said some people have brought up the irony of him, as a criminal defense attorney, teaming up with the sheriff.
But Delgado said his law firm handles other legal matters. And he said he is a former Daytona Beach city commissioner and a community member.
Delgado added that while allies in this fight, he and people he has represented in criminal court have been the target of Chitwood’s criticism in the past.
But he said that he and the sheriff have similar approaches.
Delgado said “I’m willing to take risks and be aggressive. And I think that’s Chitwood’s style also.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Private attorney filed Daytona spring break lawsuit, is he charging?
Reporting by Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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