IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA 

MIAMI DIVISION 

CASE NO.: ______________________ 

DIEGO AGNELLI, 

 Plaintiff, 

v. 

LENNOX MIAMI CORP., 

 Defendant. 

 

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES 

Plaintiff Diego Agnelli (“Agnelli”), by and through his undersigned counsel, hereby sues 

Lennox Miami Corp. (“Lennox” or the “Company”), and states: 

PARTIES, JURISDICTION AND VENUE 

1. This is an action for damages in excess of Seventy Five Thousand and 00/100 

Dollars ($75,000.00), exclusive of interest, attorneys’ fees and costs. 

2. Agnelli is an individual, sui juris, who is a citizen of Argentina. While Agnelli 

presently resides in Florida, he is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United 

States. As such, he is a citizen of a foreign state for diversity jurisdiction purposes. 

3. Lennox is a Florida corporation authorized to do business in the State of Florida. 

4. Jurisdiction is proper before this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a), as 

Agnelli is a citizen of a foreign state and Lennox is a citizen of Florida, and the amount in 

controversy exceeds $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs.

5. Venue is proper before this Court because, among other things, (1) the contract 

breached by Lennox contains an exclusive venue provision for Miami-Dade County; and (2) the 

events giving rise to this cause of action accrued in Miami-Dade County. 

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GENERAL ALLEGATIONS 

6. At all material times, Lennox has operated the hotel located at 1900 Collins 

Avenue, Miami, Florida 33139 (the “Hotel”). 

7. Agnelli served as the President of Lennox from November 2010 until July 2020. 

8. In December 2017, Agnelli and Lennox entered into an Employment Agreement 

for the term of January 1, 2018 through January 1, 2023 (the “Employment Term”). A true and 

correct copy of the Employment Agreement is attached as Exhibit A. 

9. The Employment Agreement was executed by Juan Castellanos Bonillo 

(“Castellanos”), as Vice President of Lennox. Castellanos was Agnelli’s father-in-law, and 

provided investment capital for Lennox while Agnelli put in the sweat equity for Lennox. 

10. Pursuant to the Employment Agreement, during the Employment Term, Agnelli 

was to have “sole supervision, management, direction and control” over the management of 

Lennox. Employment Agreement ¶ 3. 

11. During Agnelli’s tenure as President, Agnelli had the lead role in the day-to-day 

development and operations of the Hotel in Miami Beach and cultivating the “Lennox” brand, 

which is now known for its upscale, sophisticated, and uniquely modern boutique hotels.1

12. The Hotel, for example, is a modern reinterpretation of an iconic 1930’s Art Deco 

revival building. The Hotel is renowned for being one of the best modern remodels of a historic 

building in Miami Beach. It is stylish, artistic, and meticulously designed and decorated. These 

were all details planned and executed by Agnelli, whose passion and tireless work for the hotels 

is the moving force behind the Lennox brand’s success. Under Agnelli’s leadership, in less than 

8 months, the Hotel became #1 out of 222 hotels on TripAdvisor. 

 

1 Agnelli has also helped successfully build up two (2) Lennox-branded hotels in Argentina. 

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13. Agnelli’s labor and unique skillset were crucial to Lennox’s success. Agnelli was 

the mastermind behind the Hotel and the development of the brand. He built the Hotel from the 

ground up, personally involving himself in all aspects of the project, including big picture 

development, construction, design, marketing, and sales. Agnelli oversaw employee training, the 

creation of operating manuals and controls, and all aspects of administration and management of 

the Hotel. 

14. Agnelli put together an audit and inventory control system that helps the Hotel 

run efficiently, keeping costs low and exceeding the industry average for hotel profits. 

15. Agnelli was also indispensable in establishing Lennox’s elite position in the hotel 

market. He secured high-end events and affiliations that generated a significant amount of 

revenue for the Hotel, such as Paraiso, Cabana, Chopard, and Porsche. Agnelli made Lennox the 

headquarters for the Paraiso Miami Beach Swim Week show because of his involvement with 

the Miami fashion industry. 

16. Agnelli also partnered with several high-end South American influencers to 

showcase the Hotel and expand the brand to the South American market. 

17. Agnelli’s involvement and aggressive sales approach led to the Hotel’s early 

success. Among other things, Agnelli secured a high-end buyout group for the 2020 Super Bowl 

in Miami, which generated half a million dollars in revenue for the Hotel in the span of four 

days. 

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18. The Employment Agreement includes the following provision:

Termination without Cause. This Agreement may be terminated without Cause 

by the Company or the Employee, at any time upon giving written notice to the 

other party of such termination. If the Company terminates this Agreement 

without Cause, the Parties acknowledge that the actual damages likely to result 

from breach of this Agreement are difficult to estimate on the date of this 

Agreement, and would be difficult for the Parties to prove. Accordingly, the 

Parties agree that in the event of any breach of the obligations and responsibilities 

set forth in this Section 2(b), the Company shall pay the Employee USD $6 

Million, which amount reflects five (5) years of Employee’s salary, as Liquidated 

Damages (the “Liquidated Damages Amount”). The parties intend that 

Company’s payment of the Liquidated Damages Amount would serve to 

compensate the Employee for any breach by the Company of its obligations under 

this Agreement. 

Employment Agreement ¶ 2(b). 

19. Agnelli and his wife (Castellanos’ daughter) separated, and their marriage is 

irretrievably broken. There are family law proceedings between Agnelli and Castellanos’ 

daughter pending in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida. See 

Castellanos v. Agnelli, Case No. 2020-009516-FC-04 (Fla. 11th Cir. Ct.).

20. On June 22, 2020, while Agnelli was on vacation out-of-state with his children, 

Castellanos unilaterally and unlawfully2

 began attempting to remove Agnelli from Lennox. This 

included actions that involved locking Agnelli out of the Hotel, denying Agnelli access to his 

personal property, and seizing control of the premises. 

21. To punish, harass and bully his soon to be former son-in-law, Castellanos caused 

Lennox to unlawfully and constructively terminate Agnelli without Cause as of the filing of this 

Complaint. 

 

2 Castellanos did not have standing or authority to remove Agnelli from the Hotel and has not 

taken steps that are consistent with Lennox’s Bylaws and other corporate documents. Among 

other things, Castellanos acted without authority of Lennox’s Board of Directors. Agnelli has 

12.5% ownership stake in Lennox, his wife another 12.5%, and the remaining 75% is owned by 

an overseas entity known as Invernorth Limited. Invernorth Limited is, in turn, owned by a 

Wyoming trust. Additionally, Agnelli was President of Lennox Miami Corp. and Castellanos 

was Vice-President.

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22. As a result, Agnelli is entitled to recover from Lennox at least $6,000,000. 

23. All conditions precedent to the prosecution of this action have been performed, 

satisfied, excused or waived. 

24. Agnelli has been required to retain the services of the undersigned counsel to 

prosecute this action and is obligated to pay counsel an hourly fee for their services. 

COUNT I – BREACH OF CONTRACT 

25. Agnelli re-alleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 24 as if fully set forth 

herein. 

26. Lennox has breached the Employment Agreement by, among other things, failing 

to pay Agnelli the $6,000,000.00 due and owing to Agnelli under the Employment Agreement. 

27. As a direct and proximate result of Lennox’s breach of the Employment 

Agreement, Agnelli has been, and will continue to be, damaged. 

28. In addition, Agnelli is entitled to attorneys’ fees for unpaid wages pursuant to Fla. 

Stat. § 448.08. 

WHEREFORE, Diego Agnelli demands judgment in his favor and against Defendant 

Lennox Miami Corp., together with pre- and post-judgment interest, attorneys’ fees and costs 

under Florida law, and for such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper. 

JURY DEMAND 

Agnelli hereby demands a jury trial on all issues so triable. 

Dated: July 8, 2020. 

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Respectfully submitted, 

/s/ Brian H. Koch 

JESUS E. CUZA 

Fla. Bar No. 428991(jesus.cuza@hklaw.com) 

BRIAN H. KOCH 

Fla. Bar No. 637335 (brian.koch@hklaw.com) 

REBECCA CANAMERO 

Fla. Bar No. 86424 (rebecca.canamero@hklaw.com) 

ANNELISE DEL RIVERO 

Fla. Bar No. 1003234 (annelise.delrivero@hklaw.com)

HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP 

701 Brickell Avenue, Suite 3000 

Miami, Florida 33131 

Telephone: (305) 374-8500 

Fax: (305) 789-7799 

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